Kristina Zavaleta is currently working as an assistant manager for a direct marketing firm that works exclusively with nonprofits.

I’ve actually had CTTB’s community as a whole, and definitely DRBU, on the brain a lot lately. I miss the dialogue, the wisdom, definitely the people, the wholesomeness, and the communal yet individual endeavor to understand and overcome our “weaknesses.”

I find myself in the longest CEI I’ve ever experienced—some people call it life, but I have a hard time taking it that seriously.

Currently, I am an assistant manager for a direct marketing firm that works exclusively with nonprofits. In May, one of our biggest clients and an organization I’ve worked with since their covid comeback—The Nature Conservancy—has requested that I take the team I’ve trained here in Atlanta and open my first business in Kansas City, MO, to continue the direct marketing for them in a new and relatively untouched market.

It’s exciting and yet, it reminds me of the cultivation that Master Hua had people do by cultivating through working. I’ve noticed that people find comfort in the dichotomy of having a spiritual life and cultivating, but it’s separate from the everyday and “the world.” Training and learning to train others in this field has been the best example of cultivating through a constant practice of positivity, selflessness, active listening, balancing emotions, and most importantly, letting go.