In a world with so much divisiveness, so much violence, and so much nasty rhetoric, it often feels like no one is listening and no one cares. Like human life has lost its value and intrinsic worth. We need kindness more today than ever.

With most of the world shut down and the brakes on every plan ever conceived, people ventured outdoors. Scores of people took to the trails and hiking paths. Deep in the wilds of state parks, one can normally count on being alone. Until COVID flipped that script. If the forest were a company, business was booming last summer.

It wasn’t always like this. It used to be fun being popular. Every day now I’m being forced into things I never wanted to be part of, and I don’t like what I’ve become.

At it’s most basic level, looking upstream demands a simple question – What would it take for this problem to never happen again?

For me you’re way more than a season. You’re a celebration. You fill me up every year with thoughts and feelings and events and activity and food and incredible beauty. None of your unique personality will I ever get from any other season.

We typically only see of a tree those parts above ground. Except for their leaves, it’s in the unseen anatomy below ground and inside their outer husks where they are alive and growing.

With the world in the grip of a deadly health crisis, entire nations are on lock down, and billions of people are isolated in their own homes, social distancing, quarantining, and generally avoiding restaurants and movie theaters and concerts and coffee houses – and crucially – avoiding their fellow humans. All that isolation is taking a terrible toll on our physical and mental health.

“Today is a stay-at-home day,” says Jessica. “We don’t go places on stay-at-home days.” Sounds like Jessica has a perfect coping mechanism for social distancing, right?

Saying goodbye to my mother-in-law for the last time was heartbreaking. Especially so because the person I said goodbye to wasn’t really her. The woman I knew so well was already gone.

Glancing out the passenger side window, my brain snagged on something, and it took but a second to yank my whole mind around. One tiny moment of clarity was all it took to lay bare for me exactly what my heart was searching for. It’s as though this thing I saw were a deer that had suddenly jumped in front of me.

Journaling is also less about what we see in our lives and more about what we don’t see. If our brain were a box of worms, journaling would take them all out, wash away the gooey mess, and line them all up where we can plainly see how each of them wiggles. In doing so, it clarifies our thoughts and feelings and helps us gain a valuable understanding of ourselves.

“Autistic kids have difficulty with social situations, and learning to interact with others takes time,” says Paul. “But if you don’t take time to understand autistic kids, you don’t get to see how wonderful they really are.”

“It takes a long time to grow young,” said Pablo Picasso. At 55, I hope to have a lot of growing young to do yet. That’s why I am so thankful to have a big group of older friends to lead the way and help me age well.

Countless are the other many cherished memories I hold of walks long and short here and there throughout the decades. Moments with loved ones and old friends, some of whom I’ll never see again. Unforgettable sunsets, sweeping vistas, weather both pleasant and foul, and a million little things from a spectacularly bright red-spotted newt I helped cross the road one day to the intoxicating bouquet of balsam trees on a quiet little street I’ve walked or run at least a thousand times. Literally.

A mere six months into my new life living in Taipei, I dreamed what is still to this day the single most vivid and powerful dream of my life. I knew this was something I needed to remember, so I searched for a little piece of paper and wrote down a quick few words before returning to sleep in hopes the dream would return.

High in the wilderness of the Adirondack Mountains of New York State I came to know a group of remarkable educators who, in my esteem, stand as tall as the snowy peaks that surround their little school. There they teach a version of the three Rs that’s almost as old as the original reading, writing and arithmetic.

We’ve all heard of, if not experienced for ourselves, the feeling of being so practiced at some skill that our actions just flow naturally without effort. It’s often called being in the zone. That’s Wei Wu Wei. The challenge is not to feel that for a fleeting moment or two but to be able to bring it forth and channel it.

Like a summer that just keeps going, my long career story is full of twists and turns, the inevitable setbacks, and many wonderful triumphs, all of which have enriched me with valuable lessons. As of today, here are my top 10.

We can eat ‘em whole. Grind ‘em up. Split ‘em. And cook ‘em many delicious ways. Add them to everything from soups to stir fry. Substitute them for meat. Even make them the foundation of surprisingly scrumptious salads. The fact is, anyone can turn this versatile, wholesome, and inexpensive fruit into mouth-watering magic.

When it comes to consenting to sex, everything but a clear “yes” means no.