Unbroken: A Longing for Home and Wholeness

Daily, I’m struck by the awareness that we are at war—not a war of bullets and bombs, but an inner war, waged in our hearts and minds. It’s a battle for identity, sovereignty, belonging, and moral courage. I imagine that soldiers on a battlefield think often of home. The longing for home is ancient—it’s not merely a physical place, but a sacred state of being, where we feel seen, known, and held in a web of connection.

In these days of division and upheaval, the thing most under siege seems to be our goodwill. Civility—the basic human agreement to treat one another with care—is unraveling before our eyes. And when our sense of connection breaks down, cruelty grows easily in the cracks. We forget that we need each other to live meaningful lives. Without that truth at our core, indifference becomes the default, and apathy the new normal.

So how do we fight this war? Not with rage or despair, but with resilience and resourcefulness—qualities that root us in adaptability and remind us of our shared humanity. These traits are not passive. They are active, tools in the face of political chaos, climate disruption, and rising loneliness. They are what allow us to reach for one another across the divide.

Studies on what makes a happy human always arrive at the same conclusion: we thrive through relationship and community. We are healthiest when we belong to something larger than ourselves. But here we are—alone in metaphorical foxholes, under fire from false narratives and cruelty. Our bruised souls, it seems, are being asked to remember. Remember the grace of civility and hospitality that is innate.

In recent months, I’ve been making my way through Homer’s The Odyssey. The hero, Odysseus is returning from a protracted war. He isn’t merely trying to get home—he’s trying to return to wholeness. Along the way, he is met by the ancient code of hospitality—not just food and shelter, but welcome, kindness, and dignity. This code is a compass. It underscores who we are and how to treat those around us.

This era is obsessed with power, dominance, and spectacle, and we would do well to reclaim the quieter strengths: wisdom, humility, restraint. Growth does not come from dominance—it comes from trial, recovery, and the courage to evolve.

What makes a society function is more than governance—it is a shared ethos, an agreement to care. Hospitality in its truest form means we keep talking to one another, even when we disagree. We don’t shut down. We don’t shut out. We reach across, with the intention of respect.

In the cacophony of modern life, myths and stories like The Odyssey invites us to reflect, and return to the humane and friendly rhythms that are intended to guide our collective heart. We are all navigating uncharted waters. We are all, in some way, trying to come home, trying to become whole.

This is how we fight the war — with the story of being human, with the story of making beauty in chaotic times, with the story of returning to ourselves and what it means to be whole and unbroken.

She Drank Tea While Texas Burned

when atoms of darkness break apart
light breathes itself into day
i stand at the edge of dawn
picking politics from my teeth
and spit out the taste

the neighborhood looks like it survived fire
but it was just the sun
unfurling in rage
gripping us with heat
leaving lawns brittle, brown
as government crumbles
and goodwill evaporates

hope is a threadbare flag
resilience, a word worn down
by too many mouths, too many days
freedom misinformed
have we become
indifferent?

i grub in the dirt
for misplaced gratitude
wishing the moon would rise
and cool the ache
i pour another cup of tea—
some days, that’s the most I can do
put it on my gravestone:
she drank tea while texas burned

dishes wait in the sink
plants need repotting
small tasks—anchors
against the weight of worry
we cannot return to “normal”
it no longer exists
we must forge
a new way home

Dear and precious reader—thank you for being here. May we each remember the ancient code of hospitality. May we offer the grace of a listening ear, a helping hand. And may we be transformed by the living story we are in. ~stephanie