Gratitude for this Community

for the love and generosity

Hello, Friends,

I’m on the road today and was not going to post, but then… I received a gift out of the air and I want to share my gratitude, plus the lesson I take from it.

As I say in the video above (which I made for social media, but it seems fitting to share it with you too), it’s been a super-difficult couple of weeks for me, both personally and in the world at large.

I’ve really struggled to keep my light shining and to find positive ways to interact with daily life. And then my email brought a beautiful and entirely unexpected gift from

Candace Rose Rardon

of Dandelion Seeds here on Substack.

I had commented on her post about confluences, when she asked what rivers and confluences did we carry with us in life. And she illustrated my comment, hand-lettering and all, and sent it to me in thanks. She also used it in her post, along with two others. Her message to me said, in part,

I wanted to thank you for the beautiful comment you left last week on my story, "Where Two Rivers Meet" -- and I also wanted to let you know that I hand-lettered it for today's post…. Thanks so much again for the chance to share your moving words (and thank you especially for inspiring the title for this community roundup!).

Receiving Candace’s email, and her expression of appreciation, plus the gift of her creativity, made my whole week. It’s as if the universe reached out and said, “Take heart: your words and your work matter.”

I am not ashamed to say I cried. Her words and her loving, creative gesture touched my heart and gave me new hope for this life and this world.

The lesson: kindness matters

This story is a reminder that kindness matters. Spreading the light matters. Practicing terraphilia matters. What we each do every day from our hearts matters.

Thank you for your company on this journey. You all make a difference in this world, and to me.

Blessings, Susan