In the frenzy of high summer, I find myself busier than ever. Out of our normal family routine and in new and changing surroundings, summer seems to require more logistics, more packing and unpacking, more chaos. But this is the price we are lucky to pay in exchange for summer adventures and lasting family memories. This summer chaos extends to my current headspace – and mom brain doesn’t help. As we collectively navigate what it means to live in our world today and grapple with the most meaningful ways we can all make a positive difference, I feel incredibly privileged, nearly 15 years in, to still feel not only passion and excitement for my work, but to feel that we are creating meaningful change together every day at FEED.

I was recently struck in reading Oliver Burkeman’s newsletter called “The Imperfectionist” by a blurb about the distinction between seeking meaning and seeking ‘aliveness.’ As humans – especially us type-A folk – we put a lot of stock in meaning and hold ourselves to nearly impossible standards when it comes to how we can and should be showing up in the world and the type of difference we should be making. Burkeman argues for a switch in focus away from finding meaning to simply feeling alive. He quotes Joseph Campbell who said, "People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life, I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive… so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive."

For the remainder of the summer, I am challenging all of us – while we may not put aside seeking meaning and working towards building a better world – to also allow ourselves a minute (or many minutes) to simply feel the rapture of being alive. Because especially in the summer, it is oh so sweet.