This wildfire season has been heartbreaking. Across Europe, North America, and many other parts of the world, families have been displaced, forests have burned, and countless wild animals have lost the places they call home.

Here in Washington, we’re seeing some of the largest wildfires in our state’s history. Like many people, I’ve been thinking about what I would do if I had to leave with my two cats, and about the wildlife that visit the little sanctuary I call the Wild Reiki Spa. I’ve come to know many of them as neighbors, and I wish I could protect every one of them.

We can’t control everything. But we can choose how we respond.

We can support firefighters and emergency responders. We can restore habitat where we live. We can reduce our impact on the planet. We can speak up for the natural world. And we can support leaders and policies that recognize the importance of protecting our climate, our forests, our communities, and the many lives that depend on them.

May this image remind us that compassion is an action.

Thank you to every firefighter who walks toward danger so that others have a chance to walk away from it.

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