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We have been on something of a hiatus. From the Latin “hiare,” hiatus meant “to gape” or “to yawn” and often referred to as a literal gap or opening in something. One takes breaks and looks for the gaps, waits for the openings.

As I write these words, the scenes of yesterday’s riots at our nation’s Capitol are still fresh in my mind. January 6, 2021, was the Day of Epiphany, and my family had placed a King Cake pre-order from BreadCraft, a local bakery. The cake was a marvel of purple, gold, and silver sparkles. We leave our Christmas tree standing until the day of Epiphany, and always remember the occasion as it marks the anniversary of my wife’s discovery that we would be having a child. Our son is now a long, lean 17 year old high school junior, who shared some sense of our shock at the images of terror and destruction, at the masked flag-bearing white men and women attacking police, damaging property, and desecrating sacred civic spaces. The King Cake was a needed balm for palate and spirit. 

An odd time, perhaps, to return from hiatus. Our break from posting content here at Social Possibility Lab was mostly a time of reflection and reconsideration. Over the past year, we experimented. We toured parts of Central Appalachia and learned about clean energy and sustainable development leaders and entrepreneurs. We visited San Francisco and met with creative people leading clean energy advocacy and entrepreneurial projects across the United States. We interviewed over two dozen leaders from West Berlin to West Virginia, Washington state to Washington, DC. We shared dozens of posts with resources and links related to the work for social good and better places. We continued our professional work on numerous projects in higher education engagement, regional economic development, and workforce development. We conducted an essay contest and shared words and work on the theme of crisis and possibility. We added many new friends and associates to our newsletter and shared regular updates to a budding network.