Excerpt: “A strong community helps people develop a sense of self, for only in community can the self exercise and fulfill its nature: giving and taking, listening and speaking, being and doing. But when community unravels and we lose touch with one another, the self atrophies and we lose touch with ourselves as well. Lacking opportunities to be ourselves in a web of relationships, our sense of self disappears, leading to behaviors that further fragment our relationships and spread the epidemic of inner emptiness” (Palmer, 39)

Parker Palmer penned these words in A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life in 2004. I happened upon the book as soon as it was published while studying developmental psychology in my Masters program. It was hugely influential in my life then and has continued to be a source of support and encouragement for two decades now.

For 20 years, I have been slowly and imperfectly moving toward the undivided life that Palmer refers to, sometimes more intentionally and consciously aware than others.