My friend Deb is a rare human that I feel truly blessed and honored to know. We met in high school in our school's concert choir, she with her delicate soprano and myself with my brash mezzo-alto. I remember always wanting to be more like Deb- to be softer with people when I felt spiky, to be cheerful in the face of the horrors of high school, to be bold and sassy when the world expected me to turn in on myself and keep quiet.

Over the years we've kept in touch, over 25 if you can believe it! Time and distance are nothing to Deb’s heart, spirit, and intuition. She always seems to know when I need to hear a message and reconnect to my core, whether that's been a literal message to say hello and give me support or by her sharing of things that have inspired her. I'm someone who looks for signs and messages and sometimes there are too many to know which way to go…

Deb reminds me that there is value in the middle way. There is value in turning inward, examining your heart, and being willing to say the hard things that are weighing down your path. There is value and joy and even magic in questioning why and for whom we are here. We may have found our centers from different trails through the wilderness, and they might look like polar opposites, but if you look at the center, all you find is love.

And I'm not talking about romantic love or even idolatrous love; this is Love for the sake of Love. Love for the sake of humanity, love for the sake of our neighbors, love for the sake of our communities. Love for the miracle that is our very existence. Love that drives not only what we do professionally, but also drives how we live within our families and ourselves.

As a nurse I've learned that perhaps the most meaningful thing you can do for someone struggling is to sit with them, hold space for them, to be willing to be entirely open to whatever their struggle is without judgment. Sometimes this requires looking at the broken parts of not only them, but of ourselves.

We may find ourselves handling the shards of what we once knew to be solid, trying to put it back together. Deb is one of those rare souls that is willing to get into the muck with you while you navigate your way back to your center. Not only as a friend, but as a fellow caregiver I admire her so much and know that the world could benefit from more hearts like Deb's!

-Hillary