This year, I would first like to consider the importance of making room for the word through listening. The willingness to listen is the first way we demonstrate our desire to enter into relationship with someone.

A structured environment, however, gently trains the mind to follow the structure on the ground. It canalizes the expression of freedom along a socially constructed path. This is a subtle but powerful preparation for a healthy relationship between personal freedom/preference and socially enacted principles and rules.