Yes, there is more to be done. It’s critically important for me to constantly reflect on how I can do more to help fix what is broken in my community, and to remember that our work at the Center is not the only good work being done. The more we can support the efforts of others doing amazing work in our neighborhoods, the stronger we all are.

And also, yes, this work is important and relevant for two reasons:

First: common ground. As a society, we tend to isolate and section ourselves in a way that makes it extraordinarily difficult for us to see across the racial, economic and political divisions we create. At the Center, we see our work as building common ground (sometimes literally!). A park is a place where everyone can find something to enjoy, a place where people can have shared experiences. We try to create spaces where people who have different backgrounds can thrive together and build something together. After all, you don’t have to agree on everything to be awed by the magnificent quiet after a fresh snowfall in the park.

Secondly (and this is exceedingly basic): love. Life in all its forms — plant, animal, human, white, black, brown — is sacred and precious, and our survival as a society, and as a species, depends on truly taking that belief as our centering tenet. We cannot make this world better if we don’t believe that the whole thing is worth loving!

So, why do this work? Not because it is the only good work or because it is the most important, but because it is an important piece of the puzzle. We live in a city that desperately needs common ground and desperately needs us to believe that it is worth loving. And as silly as it might sound, I do believe that wintry snowshoe tromps through the park, alongside a neighbor, just might help us get there.