In his letters to Taraknath Das, the writer Leo Tolstoy stated that love was the highest morality. Yet, despite there never being an argument to the contrary, we had removed love from our public life – from our industry and institutions. Can we bring love back? How can we infuse our schools, our governments, our communities with love? Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day are back to back on this year’s calendar. Those two days seem so disparate, but perhaps we can bring them closer together through small intentional actions.

Christine Stay and Aidan Quinn

are from South Carolina where they live in a sustainable house they designed and built with a big garden and a tiny orchard. Their modern-folk duo Friction Farm combines storytelling, social commentary, and humor to create songs of everyday life, local heroes, and quirky observations.  They have toured internationally, performed at notable folk festivals, won a few songwriting awards. Friction Farm’s last CD “So Many Stars” was inspired by their travels across the country witnessing the collision of strong political polarity with personal kindness, the intersection of fragility and breathtaking beauty. The latest album, due any day now, is filled with harmony and hope.

Topics: Care, Connection, Love, Perspective