Parker is a mindfulness teacher, social worker and therapist. Born in Louisville Kentucky, he moved to the US capitol DC to study international affairs and later work for a management consultancy. Disillusioned in the wake of the 2016 presidential election, Parker left his life behind and travelled to Europe, where he found Plum Village, a mindfulness retreat centre in the South of France.  A year later, Parker and I met when he spent a long summer working on the Plum Village's "Happy Farm", and have been close friends since. Parker currently lives and works on Sanctuary Farm, an agricultural mindfulness project he founded which seeks to cultivate mindfulness and build community in his politically divided home town. In this episode we talk about finding the courage to turn towards the difficulties in our lives, what it takes to feel at home, and how to rebuild a lost sense of community.  Parker is an extraordinary soul with wisdom far beyond his years and I am honoured to invite him to be my first guest on the show.