I was at Politics and Prose, one of my favorite DC bookstores, when I came across this wall in the basement, the results of their 2026 bookmark contest me.
From a distance it’s a wonderful explosion of color and creativity. Hundreds of bookmarks, all gathered together into one exuberant piece of art.
However, each bookmark is also its own little world. Different handwriting. Different drawings. Different ideas about books and reading and imagination. Some carefully rendered, some wonderfully simple. No two alike.
It struck me as a pretty good metaphor for the communities we build in our workplaces, neighborhoods, families, and friendships.
We sometimes focus so much on the big picture that we forget how beautiful is the individuality of the people within it.
This week I plan to pay attention to both. I aim to sep back and appreciate the whole and also step closer to take in the individual contributions.
“We are all part of one another.”
– Alice Walker
