My son Zachary shared this story with me recently: last weekend, during the gorgeous Spring weather (especially appreciated by all after the days of rain that preceded it!), he decided to take a book to Central Park to read and people-watch in the sun. The park was crowded, but the vibes were good. Everyone was enjoying the liberating feeling of being outside.

Zachary made himself at home on a bench, comfortable with his iced coffee and his reading material. People rotated through inhabiting the empty spaces on either side of where he was sitting. Eventually, a couple approached the bench next to him. They were carrying paper bags with food from a deli and getting ready to share some al fresco brunch and conversation. But before they sat down one of them said, “Wait! Let’s see who we’re spending time with today.”….

Yesterday, May 8, we commemorated the feast day of Dame Julian of Norwich, who is the first woman we know of to have written a book in English. She was born in 1342 in England, and lived during a time of upheaval that included famine, revolts, and the Black Plague. When she was thirty, she became gravely ill and was expected to die. Just after receiving last rites, she began having a series of mystical visions of Christ suffering on the cross. The experience brought her great comfort and joy, and she wrote the visions down in a book called Revelations of Divine Love. She later became an anchorite, living in a tiny cell attached to the church Norwich, and she developed a reputation as a wise spiritual counselor….

In March, a series of short videos that focused on toddlers and sharing were making the rounds. In each of the clips, a toddler was seated in the middle between two people. In front of each person was a plate with a napkin covering it, and on the count of three each person took the napkin away to reveal a surprise. The toddler got two cookies, one of the participants got one cookie, and one person’s plate was empty…..