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What parent hasn’t been totally humiliated by their toddler’s melt-down on an otherwise beautiful day at the park or a teen who expressed rageful belligerence at the check-out stand for no coherent reason we can understand?

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. Two caterpillars were talking to one another, crawling on the ground in the way caterpillars do. They both had their eyes pointed upward. One caterpillar is talking to the other, “You’ll never catch me up in one of those things.”

If you are a parent seeking inspiration, I highly recommend, More of Everything: How I became a better parent to my child with extreme special needs by lifting my emotional burdens.

An interior life is to our minds what an enclosed porch is to our house. It’s a place separate from, yet a part of the structure in which we live. It’s a place to meet ourselves and have a good chat.

How much poison are you willing to eat for the success of the free market and global trade? Please name your preferred poisons. For the sake of goodness, how much evil are you willing to do? What sacrifices are you prepared to make for culture and civilization?

To maintain my sanity, and continue to do my small part on this planet, I try to discipline myself to focus on his first sentence: “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” If I spend too much time and energy pondering all of our complex problems, I can’t muster an ounce of hope. I’m too exhausted.

Your energy, or inner chi—if you prefer—makes everything possible. All completions and beginnings depend on it. Energy renewed means a vibrant living; energy not restored leads to a slow decaying. Dissuaded, defeated, we succumb more quickly to any little annoyance or long-term pain that passes our way.

When we gaze the stars, awed by their place in the vastness, let’s remember the multitudes within us. We, too, hold a significant place in this vastness. May a chance encounter with a stranger who just happened to help unlock a current conundrum, remind us that non-local knowledge resides within us all. Vastness is inherent in our humanness!

You left on a 12. A mathematician, you referred to 12 as a completion. With this numerical flourish you finalized your human form. Even at your end, giving me something to think about. 12 months in a year prompted you to prompt me to make our PCI program 12 months—just enough for solid self-reflection, you noted. You were right, of course.

Walking fast to the post office, I automatically adjust as I approach the cherry trees with their pregnant pink blossoms. Their fresh, dewy vibrancy demands “slow down, notice me.” My pace now becomes one of a pilgrim paying homage to the sacred. I make sure I return this way.