Every Place Matters

Radical Joy for Hard Times is a worldwide community of people dedicated to bringing meaning, beauty, and value to places that have been damaged by human or natural acts.

We are willing to face the sorrow we feel when the places we care about have been hurt and to respond not by turning our backs but by boldly stepping forth to spend time with these places and offer them gifts of love and gratitude for all they have given to us. We believe that in these troubling times, taking care of the places where we live in the present, even as we work for a better future is an essential tool for survival.

Listening to the land and to one another, we discover a new sense of belonging. We gain the courage to go through hard times, for we see that it is always possible to give beauty and kindness. We recognize that all places, like all people, have inherent value. We discover that, although we may disagree with our neighbors about some things, we share a deep and abiding love of place.

We understand that we are all connected in the common ground beneath our hearts.