Sunrises, Gratitude, & Giving (Tuesday)

by JAKE NORTON

December 2024
The pink hues of twilight glaze the cloud tops from my vantage point about 39,000 feet above rural Poland. It’s a sublime view, but a bit melancholy, as my sunset is my wife’s 18,264th sunrise as she sits half a world away. Yesterday, on the beach in Santa Barbara, California, we four (Wende, Lila, Ryrie, […]

The pink hues of twilight glaze the cloud tops from my vantage point about 39,000 feet above rural Poland. It’s a sublime view, but a bit melancholy, as my sunset is my wife’s 18,264th sunrise as she sits half a world away.

Ryrie, Lila, Wende, and me enjoying some moments together in Santa Barbara.

Yesterday, on the beach in Santa Barbara, California, we four (Wende, Lila, Ryrie, and I) celebrated her 18,263rd sunrise on the morning of her 50th birthday. Fittingly, it was a stunner, dappled clouds arcing, the California blue sky softened with the delicate blush and promise of a new day, a new year.

As is often the case in our at-times-frenetic lives, Wende returned from Nepal two weeks ago, and soon we were off to visit family in Mexico and another gathering in California, and now I’m off to Nepal for three weeks. Bittersweet, certainly, as it’s never easy to leave and be away from my family, and far less easy to depart on Wende’s 50th. But, some sweetness - and immense gratitude - for the opportunity to return to a place I love, and to do so after spending some great time together as a family celebrating our blessings.

Sunrise in Santa Barbara, December 1, 2024.

But, it was Wende’s 50th birthday - that’s a big one. Fifty years of love, of inspiration, of passion for our world and all the people and places and critters that call it home. I am forever amazed and inspired by her and her commitment to making our world a better place, a more hospitable and equal place where all can thrive.

As I dive into this trip - a journey to Everest Basecamp through a back door of sorts, beginning in Mahakulung, the heart of the dZi Foundation’s working areas - I again reflect on my blessings, my gratitude, for the opportunities I have, that my family has, not because we’re better, smarter, tougher, harder working, than anyone else. Rather, much of it comes from the virtue of geography and the lottery of birth. We were born to a world of privilege, of opportunity inherent, through no doing of our own. And, likewise, so many across our country and throughout our world were born - through no doing of their own - to the corollary, a world largely bereft of privilege and opportunity. As Wende and I often discuss with our children, this is not cause for guilt (How can one feel guilt for that over which they have no control?) but instead responsibility in the best, most optimistic of forms: to pay it forward, to recognize our blessings, and to share them far and wide and often.

So, once more, to celebrate my wife’s birthday, I’m making a big (for me) donation to the dZi Foundation. Why dZi? On the surface, it’s obvious: Wende is the Executive Director and I support her, her team, her work, and the dZi communities. But it’s more than that. After 3+ decades of living, working, and studying in Nepal, I’ve not seen an organization doing better, more cohesive, logical, impactful, and sustainable work than dZi. Their collaborative approach, cross-sector (public, private, government) engagement, and unyielding dedication, have resulted in transformations of the communities in which they work. And, while not far from the developed parts of Solukhumbu, the dZi regions of Bhojpur, Khotang, Sotang, and southeast Solukhumbu are some of the most underserved in the country, and home to some of the least known and neglected ethnicities. Simply put, they deserve to have their stories heard, their needs met, their futures improved, and there is no one better positioned and more capable of doing that than dZi Foundation.

In past years, I’ve made this gift a challenge, a match in the traditional fundraising method. While that’s been effective previously, it was also - in all honesty - somewhat hollow, as I always intended to give the stated amount whether it was matched by outside donations or not. So, this year I’m doing it differently: I’m giving $5,000 today on Giving Tuesday to dZi Foundation, and asking you all to join me if you feel moved, motivated, and capable. Five bucks. Ten bucks. A hundred. The amount really doesn’t matter, because every bit helps and goes to the right people doing the right work in a place that needs it.*

Wende, here’s to you, your life and work and passion, and to 18,263 more sunrises yet to come!

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the dZi Foundation. Check out the film above!
Of course, if Nepal is not your place of connection, if celebrating Wende (maybe you don’t even know her, or me!) is not a fit, I’ll make one more ask: give somewhere if you have the means. The poor of Appalachia or Alabama or Anchorage; the needy in Gaza and Ukraine and Sudan; the stray animals and endangered species we share our world with; the ecosystems of our earth that deserve our care. Just give, give something, and know - for what it’s worth - you have my thanks and gratitude.

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