Stories & Blog Posts
A Case for the Common Good in a Climate-Changed World
The Common Good I have a confession to make. Before spending intentional time with “the common good,” this phrase always struck me as inaccessible, overly simplistic, and moralistic. Yet here...
Fostering Our Gifts for Climate Change
Last year, I was talking with my dad about climate activism, and he said, “But I’m not an activist. I don’t go out in the streets and march or anything.”...
Building a Resilient Neighborhood in a Climate-Changed Reality
In times that feel rife with upheaval, it is hard to know where to turn amidst the pervasive feelings of uncertainty and dread. For me, most of these challenging feelings...
Cómo aprendí a vivir en un barrio esperanzador
No es fácil llegar a una nueva comunidad y echar raíces sin el apoyo de tus vecinos. Llegué con mi familia a Tennessee un par de años atrás con la...
How I Learned to Live in a Hopeful Neighborhood
It’s not easy to arrive in a new community and put down roots. A couple of years ago, my family and I arrived in Tennessee with the hope of finding...
Neighboring with Kids
Finding Ways to Play: Royal Treatment Tuesday
Part of my neighboring life includes visiting friends in the assisted-living facility, adding a trip to Costco for a sick friend, or taking an injured neighbor to her physical therapy...
3 Things Trees Teach Us About Neighboring
Have you ever found yourself in some forest glade – maybe a patch of oaks along your evening walk, or a fleeting moment of solitude in the redwoods on a...
Un corazón, una comunidad
Cristina y su esposo llegaron a mi ciudad durante el invierno. Habían viajado un par de días en autobús para reunirse con su familia, pero se encontraron con la desagradable...
One Heart, One Community: A Community Closet Offers Hope
Cristina and her husband arrived in my city during winter. They had traveled for a couple of days by bus to reunite with their family, but they were met with...
Building Community with Book Sharing: 10 Ideas to Recycle and Reuse
My first step when going through this process is sorting. Sometimes I involve my kids (and sometimes it’s better to do it alone!). First, decide which books are still being...
Valentines for Justice
At last year’s Valentines for Justice party, our table was strewn with lace, heart stamps, glitter, fabric flowers, stickers, scented oils, scissors, tape and hot glue
The Time My Friends and I Threw a Party for No “Good” Reason (And why you should, too)
At the end of the summer of 2017, my friends and I threw a going-away party for an air conditioner. … Let me explain. Every summer, Southern California experiences a...