In this reflection, Dr. Blake Hestir weaves together two remarkable Fort Worth stories – the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center monks' 2,300-mile Walk for Peace and Dr. Opal Lee's journey to make Juneteenth a federal holiday – into a meditation on what it truly means to flourish together. Drawing on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision of agape, the Buddhist concept of interbeing, and the simple power of a single intentional step, Blake invites us to consider Fort Worth as a crossroads: a city, and a microcosm of the nation, where the choices we make now will shape the world our children inherit. Peace is not a destination but a daily practice: one that begins within, extends outward, and is inseparable from our care for one another and the living land.

Dr. Jyoti Mishra and her son Ayan explore how caring for the environment, our communities, and ourselves in mindful, trusting, and responsible ways fosters resilience and flourishing. Jyoti shares some about her research in the mental health impacts of climate disasters, emphasizing how collective action fused with mindful eco-therapy helps heal personal, community, and ecological traumas.

Will Hackman, author of Radically Reframing Climate Change, has seen the ocean's power up close from commercial fishing in Alaska to disaster relief after Hurricane Katrina and the trauma those experiences left behind is inseparable from his life's work in climate advocacy. In this candid and compelling essay, Will explores the rising tide of climate anxiety, particularly among young people, and argues that the antidote is neither denial nor despair, but an optimistic combination of mindfulness and meaningful action. Will makes the case that inner transformation and outer change are not in conflict — in fact, they are complementary.

In this rich and wide-ranging conversation, Blake Hestir sits down with Michael Tongkeamha – enrolled member of the Kiowa Nation, North Texas community leader, and founder of Sundance Construction & Renewable Resources – to explore what it truly means to live in right relationship with the land, with community, and with oneself. Drawing on Kiowa creation stories, his own journey from a troubled youth to changemaker, and his work building a greener, more equitable future in the construction industry, Michael offers a vision of flourishing rooted in reciprocity: whatever you take from the earth, you must be willing to give back. From the wisdom of ants to the fragrant cedar of the Mountain, this is a conversation that quietly reframes our understanding of ecological belonging and what we owe to one another and to Mother Earth.

A poem by Alexander Julie

Many people around the world, particularly in the United States, live and work in highly artificial environments, cooled in the summer and heated in the winter, engineered with electricity, running water, and high-speed internet connections for work, communication, news, and entertainment.

The path of sustainability is mostly understood and discussed in terms of “outer” transformation through public policy and law, use of technology, innovative agriculture and fuel production, etc. These are fundamental and necessary steps to take, yet their potential impact on behavior is limited unless we work to heal, renew, and transform ourselves. We also change the world by changing ourselves.

We are struck by this moment in history. The annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this year was preceded and followed by the passing into the ancestral of two other visionaries, wisdom teachers, and compassionate leaders: author, feminist, professor, and activist bell hooks, and Buddhist monk and socially-engaged mindfulness activist Thích Nhất Hạnh.