In our house, the bookshelves overflow. Some are cherished treasures with broken spines and dog-eared pages; others are still waiting to be read. This morning, I pulled down Love Heals by Becca Stevens.
Becca is the founder of Thistle Farms in Nashville, a sanctuary that provides healing, housing, and purpose to women survivors of trafficking and addiction. It has grown into one of the most successful social enterprises in the country, proving that “handmade with love” isn’t just a tagline—it’s a lifeline.
We carry Thistle Farms at the shop and I was thinking about taking the book in to make a display for Valentines Day.
As I thumbed through the book, I realized I have been struggling with the idea of love in these times. The world feels heavy right now, and the idea of “universal love” feels like a radio signal fading out of range. I needed to find the frequency again. I opened the book and found this:
“It takes a great deal of humility to face universal issues by simply loving the next person who crosses our path.“
“It’s daunting to try and love the whole world one person at a time. We all can love the world through our interactions, our business choices, our lifestyle choices, and how we choose to spend our time. It’s easy to dismiss this by telling ourselves that the small things, like buying fair trade or smiling at our neighbor, can’t make any difference in the great suffering of the world. It’s hard to imagine that small acts change the balance of love in the world. Yet it is even harder to imagine the world being a more loving place if we do nothing. In our small sacrificial choices, we show that we love the world.”
Small Ways to Show Love
That passage is the heartbeat of our shop. In a world that can often feel sharp, indifferent, or even hurtful, we’ve chosen to run this business as an act of quiet, stubborn rebellion. As a sweet spot where people can find community.
We believe that commerce doesn’t have to be cold. To us, every product we source and every person who walks through our door is an opportunity to practice that “humility of love” Becca writes about. By choosing to support humanity—by prioritizing kindness, fair choices, and genuine connection—we are trying to tip the scales.
We might not be able to fix the “big” world all at once, but we can certainly make sure that our small corner of it is filled with enough warmth to go around. Thank you for being part of that circle with us.
