To know how we belong to the world, we must first learn how to belong to ourselves. How we long to belong! We spend our lives in search of love and acceptance — from friends, from family, our spouses, and work. We strive to belong, yet the longing remains. …

This is not the strength our fathers and our brothers taught us. When I close my eyes, I see the mountain’s form — the wide base, the peaks, the charismatic presence that shapes the air and earth around it. Still distant in my mind, it fills my view: solid, stable…

When we rest, we tend to our needs, and show kindness towards ourselves. Why do we deny ourselves rest? We need it, as surely as we need air and water. Sleep is rest, and we do not get enough of that. …

To be embraced is to join our suffering together, and in that communion find solace. For Chris. To be embraced is to be offered comfort and loving kindness when we are feeling broken, or sad, or lost, or defeated, or not enough. We are held — not for help because…

What is gained when rushing water becomes still? For Sarah. The river widens, and its current slows. The rushing water becomes calmer, then grows still. Mud settles, and the water clears. Its surface holds the sky’s reflection. What is gained in this quieting of the water’s motion? There is silence…

To rope up is to commit oneself fully to a team. In that commitment, there is magic. For Scott. When crossing glaciers or steep terrain, climbers attach themselves at equal intervals to a shared safety rope. If one climber falls, the others must break the descent, or fall with them…

Spring marks the beginnings of things that are not yet acknowledged, or understood. For Matthew Spring is the season for growth. It is a time of creation and discovery. It marks the beginnings of things that are not yet acknowledged, or understood. …

Going home is a return to safety and belonging. But which way is home? For Carlo. Going home is what happens after a journey. It is a return to safety and belonging, and to the familiar. It may require a physical return to family, or to the landscape of our…