“In a real sense, all life is interrelated. All people are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”

—Martin Luther King Jr.

WHAT’S GOOD

Join Us at Full Circle 2026

Two members of the Sunset Ridge Collective team—Taylor, our Deputy Director, and Sarah, our Park Programs Manager—will be presenting alongside Coral Studio Landscape Architects next month at Full Circle 2026, a two-day summit focused on advancing circular economy solutions in San Antonio and beyond. They’ll share the story of how an underused parking lot on our campus became Charis Park, the community green space we created as a living example of “use less, use longer, use again” thinking in action—from design and materials to programming and daily stewardship. Full Circle brings together designers, nonprofits, businesses, and community leaders to share practical tools and real-world case studies. Space is limited—learn more and register at https://www.circularsanantonio.org/summit

Embodying Peace

Taylor Bates, Deputy Director, Sunset Ridge Collective

We are all interconnected. One of us cannot have peace unless all of us have peace.

I’m sure you’ve felt the unrest in the world right now. It’s nearly unavoidable. I feel it in my body when I encounter the daily onslaught of the news—even as my body, in this moment, is safe.

Have you ever heard the word holon? I learned it last year while reading a theology book that engages ideas from quantum physics. A holon describes something that is simultaneously a part and a whole. Nothing in our universe exists independently.

Our bodies, for example, are made up of parts—organs that form systems, systems that make up a body, which is itself a whole. And that body is also part of a larger living system: humanity. Humanity, in turn, is part of the vast and beautiful system we call Earth.

Why does this matter? Because when we integrate this understanding into our consciousness, we begin to see why suffering is never isolated. If one human or one part of our Earth suffers, we all suffer. And perhaps more powerfully, if one human chooses to embody peace, that choice can ripple outward in ways we may never fully see. History offers profound examples of this truth—from people like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Thich Nhat Hanh, whose embodied peace became a part of something far larger than themselves, rippling outward into communities, movements, and generations.

*The labyrinth in* *Charis Park* *is a place where many neighbors find peace throughout the week.*

And yet, the world often seems filled with the opposite of peace—at least according to our media. It is deeply challenging to stay awake to what is happening around us, to be informed and engaged, and at the same time to remain grounded as people who embody peace. I recently read from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations that if someone is suffering and in need, and you can take away 1/60th of their pain, then that is goodness. It doesn’t take much—sometimes it looks like listening, slowing down, or offering kindness right where we are.

You can trust that your body is a holon, both a part and a whole. You belong to a marvelous, living system that includes love, creativity, imagination, grace, and resilience—a lineage as old as creation itself. Our story is one of extraordinary beauty and creativity. And while creation undeniably includes suffering and death, those forces have never overcome love and life.

So zoom out, just a little. Yes, our culture is under immense stress right now. And stress, as we know, is often the precursor to new life. It is a pressing. A wisdom pattern we see again and again: order, disorder, and reorder.

Trust this process. New creation is emerging. Be bearers of peace as we move through it—even as it includes suffering and loss. Old ways are dying. New ways are being born. Peace and love will persevere.