Perched on the front porch of the house I occupy in a small-city, residential neighborhood, a couple strolling the sidewalk sees me and stops.

Midwestern prairie strikes me inconsolably barren when I first visit: vast swaths of flat earth, featureless corn fields, incessant wind, brutal heat.

Many people recognize we live in times demanding reexamination of our highest values and deepest sources of meaning.

I attend a bustling art fair and run into Grace, an acquaintance from long ago. During the 45 minutes we ‘hang out’ at the booth of a shared friend …