I am writing with a lot of joy and inspiration in my heart, and I am filled with awe towards new Life and all the innocence, beauty, potential, and possibility it holds.

Why, you ask?

In part because I became a grandmother FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME on June 21.

I’ve attached a picture of our dear grandson, River, two days after his birth. We spent time with our kids and River right after he was born, and this special time stands as one of the most heartwarming and awe-inspiring times of my life. I have a deepening respect for the perfection of Life itself, and the importance of nurturing and revering all aspects of it. And, I’m looking forward to many years of standing with River as he defines his life’s path!

My second celebration of Life relates to the NVC Academy. Last month, we celebrated our 15^th anniversary. And today?

Today, we start on the NVC Academy’s next generation! We have plans to redesign our site, expand our programs, update the NVC Library to maximize our subscribers’ experience, and build NVC consortiums to maximize everyone’s opportunity to live NVC principles if they’d like to.

We are ready to take those new leaps and more, and hope you will join us.

First stop is our Thrive Together! festival that starts August 20^th, which – as is our usual custom – includes a wide swath of trainers, topics, languages, and countries. There will be 22 sessions, some of which will be offered with Spanish and French interpretation. During Thrive Together! we will look deeply at an expanded view of relationships, delve into ways we relate to our Earth, families, permaculture, LGBTQ, people of different cultures, and more, all with an eye to supporting each of us in relating to our world with greater harmony, and to aligning our values with life serving actions.

Please join us for our Thrive Together! festival, and stay tuned for new life at the NVC Academy!