I see, too, that I have underestimated the importance, not so much of friends and family, but of my neighbors and community—the folks I rub shoulders with in daily life. I have always wanted to avoid them, to dodge them in the supermarket, to circumvent the hassle of interacting with those would-be strangers, but now I see how wrong-headed that thinking is, how vital it is that we interact, forge some sort of relationship, and have the chance to screw up and forgive each other our foibles.

Going 65 mph with the radio blaring, I feel unsure if or how what I have experienced can be brought into my real life. Even if I practice every day, how long will it take to integrate these lessons into the fabric of who I am? Then I think about the miracle of the compost and how some profound changes don’t take as long as we think.