These days, learning to love the more-than-human world is more heartbreaking than romantic. But I find more joy in learning to love the birds and keeping company with them in their difficulty than I do in ignoring them. I hope you do, too.

Now, when I sit on my porch, I don’t just see a tree, I see a home for a Sandpiper family. It’s like the difference between hearing background music at the coffee shop and listening to your friend play guitar and sing while you sip. Its the difference between being alone and being connected.

I believe our deeper meaning and purpose is in that connection, not just between words, but between beings—human and nonhuman alike. When we pay attention to others, we learn about ourselves. We find our place in the larger life story unfolding on our planet since time began.