Eight years of practicing sacred chant with Life Together cohorts has made me a bold harmonizer. Though I have minimal formal vocal training, many of you have taught me over the years how to add layers to the sound we produce together. When it works, the result is rich and powerful. But sometimes, my harmony just comes out weird. Maybe my key is off-- there are some harmonies that are better in my head. Or maybe my deviation from the melody throws the whole group off-balance, and a moment of chaos ensues. In those moments, I pause, reset, and think to myself, "Back to basics," before rejoining the main melody.

The phrase "back to basics" has run through my head a lot in these past few weeks, and not just during a round of "To the Hills." In our current season of staff transition, the limits of my own capacity have meant thinking seriously about what is actually important. In that context, "back to basics" boils down to relationships. Relationships as the basis of our recruitment efforts. Relationships as the heart of our fundraising. Relationships as the core of how we all experience transformation through Life Together, as fellows, alumni, staff, and friends. Returning to my own Life Together organizing training more than a decade ago, I am doing a lot of 1:1s this spring to tend to existing relationships and help new ones to grow. And that time has already yielded creative energy and support to navigate this liminal season.

And of course, "back to basics" has also meant fostering the spiritual practices that connect us to God and the sacred. As we prepare for a training next month on contemplative practice, our community has talked about the deep lament we're holding over the brokenness of relationships. Some of this brokenness is interpersonal. We also experience it in the social climate of transphobia and racism that impacts so many within and beyond Life Together. And while we seek ways to act for justice and repair, we are also returning to those deep spiritual connection points as the wellspring for action: to the Bible and other sacred texts; to centering prayer and meditation; and yes, to chanting. Because as the upcoming story of Holy Week and Easter reminds us, year after year, death is not the last word. The fear and hatred surrounding us are not the last word. God speaks something new on the other side: through those 1:1s, through our action together, through the still, small voice in our exhausted hearts.

So in this spring of transitions, I am returning to the melody of Life Together, the melody of the Spirit. As we approach Holy Week in the Christian tradition, I hope that you also find and anchor yourself in the "back to basics" melody of your own life and faith.