First, reflecting on the videos from this section:

1. Alison Wagner - I felt a profound sadness when she talked about her and her friends' realization of how little care was flowing back into them as mid-life mothers caring for two other generations. I can relate in my own life how easy it is to feel like I'm giving more than receiving care. And then I was heartened when she talked about how they used this realization to redefine their friendships and provide more care for each other.
2. Susannah Fox - This was so powerful to hear the story of her loved one who called every person in his CareMap, and told them why they were listed. She said, "They felt loved that day... The CareMap sends this wave of love out to people that then is carried back to the person at the center of the CareMap when they need help. It's really a map of who cares for you and who will care for you." This is so powerful for me. I had drawn my own version of this phenomenon that I called "Integral Love" a few years ago, largely inspired by Sufi wisdom (scroll to the bottom): https://andyswindler.com/metamodel/
3. Luke Tanner - I love how Luke is applying CareMapping as a Care Network, and whole system of support. This is what I remain very curious about - how CareMaps intersect across networks and could transform how we view care and even meet people who share caregivers. He also relates it to belonging, which is critically important to human thriving and my own work. Finally he connected it his own work as a care coop and to political activism and community organizing, which is important. Just about every activist I know, including myself, has gotten burnt out at some point. It's easy for care to evaporate in situations where the work is intense, or when we feel like we have to push through to support a cause bigger than ourselves—and yet this is where care becomes the most important so that we can sustain the work.

More personally, when I shared my first draft CareMap with my wife, she reflected on how intuitive it was to see levels of care based on the thickness of lines. I made a comment that I almost didn't draw our connection line as the same thickness, because I perceive that she offers me more care than I offer her. She said she didn't feel this way, and we realized that care looks different for people—and different activities can denote different feelings of being cared for (perhaps based on how much someone doesn't enjoy a certain task, etc.). She expressed gratitude for how I care for her daughter after we got married. I expressed gratitude for how she and our daughter care for my 25-year-old iguana. And we noticed who is still missing from the map as it's being developed. She's excited to sit down with our daughter and make CareMaps together.

Hi @Andy Swindler. Thanks for posting your reflections. I'll be sure to share your comments with Alison, Susannah and Luke. I'm sure they'll be delighted to know they've had such an impact.

It is often eye-opening to share your CareMaps with others in our web of care, especially if you remain open to discovering that their perspectives differ from yours. Like your experience I think we're often surprised to learn how much positive impact we're having on others. Perhaps we just don't speak of our gratitude often enough. Perhaps we're unused to accepting such gratitude with grace.