The Quiet Work of Becoming The most meaningful creations often begin invisibly. Before there is a garden, there is a seed. Before there is a book, there is a story. Before there is a movement, there is a single person choosing to begin. Building something meaningful requires patience, devotion, and trust.

What is devotion? I ask myself this often, as it is a word I frequently encounter in spiritual practices, books, and even love poems. It is defined as “religious fervor,” as well as “the fact or state of being ardently dedicated and loyal,” and “the act of dedicating something to a cause, enterprise, or activity.”Skipping the first definition, I would say that you do not have to be religious to be devoted.

One of the most powerful ideas in permaculture is simple: nature produces no waste. In forests, gardens, and ecosystems, everything has a purpose. Leaves that fall from trees become nourishment for the soil.

Some places hold us the way a prayer does. There is a beach in Marin County called Heart’s Desire. I have walked its shoreline many times—never alone—my young son tagging along, my daughter listening to her music on her iPhone. The beach is often quiet. I am always barefoot, hypnotized by the mountains, the small bay, and the emerald waters, letting the rhythm of the water meet the rhythm of my child walking, laughing, breathing with the wind.

"Attention is the beginning of devotion," - Mary Oliver In a cafeteria of 400 students, one little note made a child feel seen. Not many months ago, while talking with my daughters, I asked them a question: “If you had to choose just one, what is the happiest memory you keep from your childhood?” Sofi, who is 20 years old, answered almost immediately, “Your little notes in my lunchbox.”