Together with two beautiful people I met when they were college students and I was their teacher, sharing what we're learning about life, we all acknowledged that we are cherishing our connections with others, not as something extra and nice to have, if we can find the time, and it doesn't interfere with our career, but as something essential to our survival and flourishing.

Now they move forward each on their own paths, navigating what we called their “turbulent twenties.” They spoke of letting go of dreams, illusions, imagined selves, and knowing, accepting, and creating who they are--mindfully and gratefully walking on the earth with humility, courage, and trust.

They still call me “sensei,” a show of respect for me as one who offered myself as their elder, simply with my presence and compassion, feeling joy and suffering with them, sharing with them what I am learning. In their presence, seeing how their lives are unfolding, how they are maturing, I sense why I am here, what my work is, what I have done, what I still need to do, if I can.