No, not you, but let me explain.

This will be my last column for a while. I’ve had a good run and have enjoyed communicating with you all. By “dedicated to my readers,” I mean those who have edited drafts, offered ideas and inspired me; you know who you are! Among you are undergraduates, colleagues, from graduate students to senior faculty and friends and family, some of whom have patiently endured my attempts to communicate with the wider world, or at least our little Ithaca bubble. Thank you for your candor and generosity, and for indulging my stories about chlorophyll and the animals that eat it.

I want to reflect on how we interact with each other, what makes us who we are and how we might move toward fulfillment. There is no perfect solution or universal answer; everybody is obviously different. And from the get-go, let me acknowledge that I speak from a position of considerable security: I have a permanent job, successful children and I am surrounded by smart people who care about me and the larger world. We should all be so lucky.

Yet, there is so much bad news, so much stress and so much uncertainty, all of which can lead to despair. I certainly feel it sometimes. This can drive us to isolate, narrow ourselves and engage in transactional thinking: I did this for you; what will you do for me? At some level, perhaps we are all transactional. Still, I assume that none of us really wants to live that way. In difficult times, purpose and fulfillment become........

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