I wanted to share this Tree of Love, that I found on FB, posted by friend Dusty Nathan and extend its message into the New Year. This beautiful Tree of Love inspired me to examine why its message means so much to me.
I find myself confused in a way I don’t remember being before.
I grew up believing that love—simple, steady love—was the center of things. That it was something you returned to when the world became complicated. Lately, I feel that center has shifted, and I don’t quite understand how.
What unsettles me is watching a community I once associated with humility and care now place its faith in a single figure whose way of being feels sharply different from the values I thought were shared. I struggle to reconcile the language of love with behavior that feels self-centered, harsh, and dismissive of others.
I’m not trying to sort out who is right or wrong. I’m trying to understand how compassion became optional, how cruelty can be excused, and how certainty can replace reflection so completely.
I notice myself growing quieter—not out of fear, but out of sadness. Conversations feel fragile now. Relationships I once trusted to hold difference with grace feel strained by it.
I write this only to mark where I am standing: uncertain, reflective, still hoping. I believe love is larger than allegiance, and deeper than personality. I believe it asks more of us than loyalty—it asks for care.
For now, all I can do is notice, and hold onto what still feels true inside me.
Love and Peace to all…. Victoria Cavaleri (Vicki)