“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it and embrace them.” —Rumi. I have been on this compassion journey for several decades now. As a longtime partner and now widow, a mother of four, friend, volunteer, and retired nurse in a variety of acute care settings, I have had the privilege of bringing compassion — in both its softer and its fiercer forms — to those around me. Learning to include myself within that same circle of compassion continues to be transformative for me, reshaping my relationship with both myself and others. The work of compassion cultivation is profoundly meaningful, and I continue to deepen my practice. I’m honored to be part of this community of teachers, and I look forward to journeying with you in cultivating compassion — for the suffering we each carry in our personal worlds and in the wider world we share.