And Back To School They Go...

Hi!

And just like that, summer is over and the littles go back to their school-time routines. 

With everything going on in the world, people being divided about a ton of things, let's just agree that protecting our littles is every adults' responsibility. 

Depending on where in the world you live, there are likely going to be different protocols put in place. 

Nobody wants kids getting sick. Nobody takes putting protocols in place lightly. 

This isn't fun for anyone, and it's not a game. It's not a political football to be kicked back and forth. It's not communism for fascism or any other ism people need to look up before they want to throw a label on something they don't like. 

This is about protecting kids from a virus that can get them extremely sick. Too many are landing in the hospital when they wouldn't have to be. Why? Because the grown-ups can't seem to get their shit together. 

This became a political issue when it was, and still is a medical one. A public health one. It has absolutely nothing to do with anything but illness, and trying to prevent it. Simple.

No different than heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, bipolar disorder, or lime disease. Something that makes people incredibly sick comes down the pike, the scientific community takes it apart, researches it, and makes strides to cure it, treat it, or come up with immunization against it.

When you get sick you go to the doctor. If needed, you are admitted to a hospital. There, they do everything they can to make you better so you can go home and go on with your life. That's all this is.

When possible, science tries to come up with ways to prevent us from getting sick to begin with.

Back in the day, they didn't know that drinking and smoking while pregnant could have horrible effects on the baby. Hell, the doctor would sit at the foot of the hospital bed of a new mother, with baby lying on the bed, both Mom and doc having a cigarette. Now we know that to help prevent Fetal alcohol syndrome, and low baby weight, you remove booze and smokes from your life while pregnant. No nefarious conspiracies behind the new rules, just science, and common sense.

Back in the day, children got extremely ill and often died of diseases that are almost entirely extinct now because of vaccines. Nothing political about it. Science and common sense. 

Back in the day, they didn't know smoking caused cancer. Now they do, so warnings labels became mandatory, advertising became pretty much non-existent, and smoking indoors in places other than your home became illegal. Not political. Science and common sense. 

Fewer people dying of cancer. Not political. Science.

Fewer kids with Fetal alcohol syndrome. Science.

Fewer people smoking. Science.

Fewer people dying in car accidents because wearing a seatbelt became a law. Science.

The fact remains that good, well-tested, scientific research, and the products, medicines, treatments, and vaccines they provide, are the very reasons we live longer, healthier lives. 

If you use a phone or a computer, you trust science.

If you drive a car, you trust science.

If you eat prepackaged food, you trust science.

If you have ever taken Tylenol or any other over-the-counter medication, you trust science.

If you take vitamins or supplements of any kind, you trust science.

If you have ever given birth in a hospital, you trust science.

If you use disinfectants to clean your house or anything at all, you trust science.

Face it. Regardless of all the hooting and hollering, all the screaming and yelling, all the huffing and puffing, you trust science. 

Kids depend on adults to keep them safe, keep them from getting sick if we can, keep them from getting preventable viruses when possible. It's our job. All of us. 

So, if your child's school is asking that everyone wear a mask, they aren't doing it as a political statement. They aren't trying to control anyone, they are just trying to add a layer of protection to little ones too young to be vaccinated. It's just science and common sense. That's it. Nothing more. 

This is a question for my American friends. 

How is it that traumatizing your kids with active shooter drills because of some inherent gun fetish is perfectly acceptable, but wearing a piece of cloth on their face to help prevent them from getting sick somehow crosses a line? 

Kids won't remain kids. This snapshot of time will be in the books for all to examine. At some point, they will look back at the decisions made on their behalf. I wonder how they will feel. 

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May this school year be filled with friends, fun, laughter and learning.

May critical thinking be encouraged, nurtured, creating a thirst, a yearning.

May we all support our teachers, their job, never easy, has taken on added stress.

May we encourage our kids to be helpers, to be kind, to do their best. 

May we, as adults, put pettiness aside, let reality set it, and do what's needed to keep our kids safe.

May we just admit we trust science, use our common sense, not let misinformation get in the way. 

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When You Choose One...

 

Hi.

As we witness what is happening in Afghanistan, the depth of terror these poor people must be feeling is beyond comprehension.  

For those who are refusing to get vaccinated, spit on mask-wearing, and like to scream about their freedoms and rights...

I mean...

Maybe some thought should be put into the difference between rights and privilege. There is a difference, if you can't recognize it, well, that's just sad.

People in Afghanistan are fighting for literal survival from an oppressive regime that celebrates brutality, and sees women as possessions. 

Now, before you jump all over me saying that putting things in place like mask mandates and vaccine passports are the first steps on a slippery slope toward Taliban-type rule, just think about that for a second. 

You are free to not wear a mask. You are free not to get vaccinated. Those are your decisions. Yours. Nobody is forcing them on you. 

And, like any other decision, there are consequences, both good and bad. 

Smoking.

Drinking until you blackout every weekend. 

Driving as fast as your vehicle will go for shits and giggles.

I mean, as a society, we are free to do harmful things to ourselves if we so choose. We do it all the time.

We eat fast food, and ice cream. We hang on to toxic relationships. We work too hard, or not enough. We neglect relationships that deserve nurturing. We buy things we don't really need way too often, and too much. We don't floss enough. The list could go on...

But, all of these, all of them, are privileges, not rights. Rights cover what we need to live, not what we want to make living more fun.

Just as you have the freedom to smoke, those around you have equal freedom to be in an environment that is smoke-free. So... restrictions. 

Just as you have the freedom to drink until you blackout, you are still responsible for your actions while in that state. So... consequences.

Just as you have the freedom to test the limits of your vehicle, you aren't allowed to put others in danger while doing so. So... limits. 

Just as you have the freedom to decide whether or not you get vaccinated, or wear a mask, others, such as business owners, restaurant owners, concert venues, stadiums, cruise lines, airlines, and entertainers all have equal freedom to not let you enter, serve you, or deal with you in any way.

It's not discrimination. It's the same freedom you are enjoying. It seems that you want freedoms you don't want others to have.

In the United States, where they have private insurance for health care, insurance companies are already taking steps not to cover Covid treatments for the unvaccinated. It's fair. The vaccine is free to get. It's readily available. It's been proven worldwide to not only be safe but significantly reduce serious illness and hospitalizations for people with Covid. It's the insurance companies' dime. They won't cover hospital stays for any other illness if there is a vaccine available and you refuse to take it, why would this be any different? 

Just remember, everyone enjoys the same freedoms you do. Period. 

So, stop yelling at people, and trying to force your unmasked, unvaccinated way into places that have mandates in place. Your freedoms don't trump theirs. If you don't like it, don't go. Or get your stuff delivered. Or do curbside pick up. 

Decisions, 100% of the time have consequences. Good and bad. When you choose one, you choose the other. End of story. 

There are limited ways out of this Pandemic. Vaccines and masks are the top two. If you choose neither, then that's on you, but I can't help but worry about the vulnerable around you. What about their freedoms?

Oh, and can you please help me to understand how a horse de-wormer, that does nothing to fight viruses, is safer than an FDA-approved vaccine for humans, designed to prevent serious illness from Covid?

Do the literal horse pills come with a Tide pod chaser? Or maybe bleach? Or just a strong light? 

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May we finally take a victory lap, together we can make it so.

May we finally get this in the rearview, we are close, not far to go.

May those who intentionally misinform be held accountable for the lives they continue to cost.

May those who believe their lies finally see through the bullshit, before more loved ones are lost.

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And Then It Rained...

 

Hi!

Whenever there is drought inevitably, and sometimes almost ironically, it rains.

Where I call home, it has been the hottest, driest summer in 150 years. The crops are almost non-existent, the pastures are depleted. Saying it's not going to be much of a harvest would be pretty much a laughable understatement for most. As much as possible will be salvaged and sold, in one capacity or another. The very best will be made out of pretty dire circumstances, then, because they are incurably optimistic, farmers will plan for seeding in the Spring. Because for farmers, stories don't end with "happily ever after", they end with, "and then it rained"...

The drought, the rain, the hurricanes, the wildfires, the heat, the snowstorms. All reminders of just how small we are. We start wars over borders we create to show domination. We start wars over religion, each believing their beliefs are the correct beliefs. We start wars over racism, sexism, fascism, and nothing at all. 

We create weapons to threaten each other, to keep each other in check, to kill each other, as long as we can provide justification, however hollow it may be. After all, justification is made easy when you cast yourself as the hero in every story. Then "they' are always the bad guys, the perpetual boogie men. We treat each other horribly based on skin tone, socio-economic status, culture, what type of reproductive organs we have, how we choose to use them, and with whom. 

I guess my point is, it seems humanity is more than happy to find any excuse to treat each other like garbage. There are organizations the world over that dedicate themselves to doing just that. The KKK, Taliban, Nazis, all profess to be providing guidance toward some 'correct' way to live. They justify their actions by writing themselves as the heroes. When they tell the stories you can bet your ass they are the good guys. 

It's like Mother Nature, Mother Earth, the Universe, a Higher Power, God, Allah, whatever your belief is, it's like the planet on which we tread keeps throwing things at us that should make us come together. That should bring out the best in us. That should make us set all else aside to help each other. The crazy storms, the wildfires, the heat, the drought, the earthquakes, hell, a pandemic, for crying out loud... These are, individually, cataclysmic events that we don't get through alone. Any one of these requires help and cooperation to recover from. All of these gargantuan things are happening simultaneously, and humanity's response?

It should be easy.

Wildfires, Hurricanes, Earthquakes, you send more firefighters and rescue workers from all over. You send equipment. You send supplies.

Drought, adjustments will be made, damaged and scant cereal crops will become feed for livestock instead of feed for humans. Supply and demand will shift for a time, shortages may happen for a bit, but then it will rain...

Pandemic, the lifelong, international epidemiologists, and infectious disease specialists do the work and come up with a plan. Those of us who are not experts follow the guidance provided, we control its spread until vaccines can create herd immunity, and said pandemic becomes irradicated. 

It should be easy.

Wildfires... an actual elected official says out loud, in public, and on purpose that some sort of Jewish space laser is to blame for a lot of them. 

Drought... farmers, and consumers will take the hit. Prices will rise at the stores, consumers will pay it because they have to eat, the rising prices never trickling down quite far enough to reach the farmers' pockets. 

Pandemic... becomes a race for gold in the idiot Olympics. I know that may sound harsh, but at this point in the arc of things, I really don't care. The feigned oppression, the intentional spread of misinformation for power and profit with complete disregard of human consequence. The utter idiocy that completely defies logic.

It should be easy.

It seems that the lack of rain isn't the only drought right now. There seems to be a drought of critical thinking, logic, and common sense.

Unvaccinated people are filling the hospitals with covid cases. The cases are becoming more widespread and more severe in young kids who are too young to be vaccinated. It's up to those of us who can to get vaccinated to help protect those who can't. And I do mean can't, not won't. 

If you are not getting vaccinated because you are leary of the fact that the vaccines only have emergency approval, just know that a lot of the treatments used in treating severe cases of Covid only have emergency approval as well.

When you get seriously ill, you trust your doctors, specialists, and medical community, if you trust them then, why not trust them now?

When I tell this story years from now, this story of the common sense drought of the early twenties, I look most forward to the end... "the clouds became heavy with logic and critical thinking, aching to drench those below with peaceful reality... and then it rained."

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May it rain, may it pour, drenching us in peaceful reality.

I can't wait.

In A Blink...

Hi!

Soooo, this week was my eldest daughter's 35th birthday.

The anniversary of my initiation into Momhood. 

Having spent the past weekend at my Mom's house with my sister, knocking things off of her well-thought-out and thorough honey-do list, watching the Olympics, and having some spirited discussions on well-worn subjects, the realization of just how fast our futures become our pasts almost gave me whiplash. 

In a blink, I went from a little girl getting in trouble for getting into my big sisters' things to grieving both of them. 

In a blink, my little sister went from riding my hip, chasing gophers, and teenage shenanigans to a wife and Mom with a satisfying career.

In a blink, my three brothers went from boys making a career out of finding a million different ways to torture their sisters to men. Husbands and dads, each successful in their own way.

In a blink, my hubby and I went from baby-faced newlyweds to parents and grandparents with faces that tell the stories of our lives. Faces where the laugh lines outnumber the worry lines, eyes that have seen their share of hardships, more than their share of joy, and look forward to seeing whatever may come next.

In a blink, our four little girls went from our babies, learning the world, to grown, confident, kind women who walk through it with purpose. 

In a blink.

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In a blink, society has gone from a horse and buggy world to one driven by megabytes and cryptocurrency.

In a blink, we've gone from news taking days or weeks to reach across an ocean to live-streaming globally in seconds. 

We've gone from phone book to Facebook, from boob tube to youtube, from comic strips to memes. 

In a blink, our world has gone from impossibly expansive and unexplored to barely a leaf left unturned. 

In a blink, our humanity has gone from making fire, to making art, to making war. 

In a blink, we will be somewhere new, somewhere we can't imagine from where we are right now.

In a blink, we will be gone, leaving behind for our great-grandbabies, a world. What kind, is as yet to be determined. 

In a blink.

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Until next time...

May we let go of the hustle long enough to savor time.

May we see that being busy isn't the same as being fine.

May we take a beat, and take stock of the last couple of years.

May we hang on to the lessons learned, let go of the anger, the fears.

May we walk forward with understanding, kindness, it's more important than we used to think. 

May we see nothing is permanent, we control little, and things can change for both good and bad in a blink. 

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Is It Just Me Or....

Hi!

Is it just me, or are you finding it a bit weird adjusting to this new way to walk through the world? 

Because of where I live, and the fact that more and more people here are getting vaccinated, we are now allowed to roam around with naked faces. 

It feels weird. Are there still people choosing to wear masks? Yup, and if it makes them more comfortable, they should. Will there still be businesses that require it? Very likely, and they should if they so choose, and... and where it is required, people shall just put it on and shut up, or go somewhere else. There isn't a service industry worker out there who has the mental, emotional, or physical capacity to put up with that abusive crap any more, not even a little bit. You want to complain about how the service industry is finding it so hard to fill positions right now? You want to pretend that the reason is cushy unemployment benefits? No. Just... no. The workers have NEVER in the history of the service industry EVER been paid enough to put up with your crap, the only way they sign up for round two of dealing with mask whiners is sheer desperation. They have had enough Karens to last at least three lifetimes. Don't be a Karen... or whatever the male counterpart would be... I don't know... Chad? Biff? 

Is it just me, or does the energy in public spaces feel tense? Like everybody is waiting to get yelled at for either wearing a mask or not wearing one. It's becoming abundantly clear that adjusting to this new normal is going to take a beat. I think these past months have been more of a mind-screw than we anticipated, or at least some of us anticipated. 

Is it just me, or has your sympathy/empathy waned drastically for the deliberately malinformed? And I do mean malinformed. A strict diet of misinformation devoid of the nutrition of actual peer-tested, fact-based data from well-respected, historically tried, and true sources. It's like living on nothing but fast food and wondering why you feel like crap. Deep down, you know you should throw a vegetable down your throat once in a while, but deliberately refuse to do so because some jackass in a lab coat with a fake diploma on the wall put out a youtube video telling you that vegetables were microchipped or will turn you into Magneto. Your deliberate idiocy is now putting those either too young or too sick to get vaccinated in real danger. Real and actual danger. Personally, I'm done sparing your feelings on this. 2+2 is 4. You can opine that it's 16, you can 'believe' it's 25, you can show me videos of some idiot declaring it's 12 because of space lasers all you want. It doesn't change the fact that it's 4. Will always be 4. 

Is it just me, or are you finding it downright entertaining that the guy who got his ass handed to him in the US election in November... like 9 months ago November, still thinks he's, I don't know.. relevant? Hosting rallies in the middle of Alabama pastures, putting out statements, and doing interviews like his words are good for anything but lining a hamster cage. He thinks by endorsing people he's doing something other than making sure they lose. Yet, the Magnetos of the world still throw money at him. Hey, it's their money, they can burn it if they really want to. 

Is it just me, or does it feel like climate change, if not home to roost, is circling to do so? Where I call home, it's really, and I do mean really rare to have so many days where the temperature reaches 30+ degrees. It's also extremely rare to go soooooo long without rain. I know there are measures in place to try and counter what's happening. It takes worldwide cooperation to conquer a global problem, the pandemic is a lesson in that. Borders are just lines on a map, put there to make colonizers feel superior. Nature couldn't care less about lines on a map. 

Is it just me, or do you catch yourself watching the Olympics wondering just how the hell they make their bodies do this stuff? As a middle-aged, menopausal, vertically challenged person with bad knees, who, granted has always been, physically, a bit stronger than the average bear, I find myself thinking back to when I was very likely at my physical best. In my 'prime', so to speak. The average age of these magnificent beings. Between the ages of 20 and 25. Was I winning medals? Nope. Was I travelling the world testing my measure against others? Nope. Was that an option, even with all of the training, and opportunity in the world? Nope, not with this biology. My Olympics, between the ages of 20 and 25? Cranking out 4 humans who have since become pretty incredible people. I'll take it. Not all accomplishments get medals, but they all take love, commitment, hard work and passion. 

I am incredibly grateful to be living in a part of the world where vaccines are plentiful and free. There are way too many places on this planet where that is simply not true. 

As I get older, it becomes more and more obvious that so much of our health, wealth, and happiness is completely determined by a life lottery. Where, when, and the socio-economic circumstances in which you are born, is so much more responsible for your lot in life than anything you do when you get here. 

It is up to us to do the best with what we are given. Not waste it. 

For me, that means prioritizing people over things. Time over money. Soul shine over shiny things. Embracing getting older, even with all the aches and pains that come with it, as too many are not given the privilege of doing so. But, that IS just me. 

Everyone needs to set their own priorities, set their own goals, dream their own dreams, find their own paths, and then create actions to lead them to where they want to be. 

Every path will be different, as will every destination. Each will have challenges, hills, valleys and curves. This is a given. Also a given, each will be rewarded with its own kind of gold.

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Until next time...

May we give each other a bit of space as we take the baby steps back into the open.

May we do all we can to keep each other safe, give our most vulnerable something to have hope in.

May we, as humanity, vow to never be a Karen a Biff, or a Chad.

May we accept that people of service are beyond every limit they ever had.

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Beautiful, Intimidating, Light And Dark...

                                                                 PHOTO CREDIT: GOOGLE IMAGES

Hi!

So I've been watching the Olympics here and there all week. 

Whenever I watch things like this, where humans push themselves to the absolute limits of what is possible, part of me asks, why torture yourself for a game? The other part of me gets it... completely.

You prep and practice and pour your soul into what makes it shine, hold that work up for the world to see, then watch and hope all of your work pays off. 

One moment in time can dictate everything that happens next.

The determination and dedication. The pressure, the stress. The euphoria of victory, the agony of loss.

What it must feel like as they get off the bus at the edge of the Olympic village. The awe that must hit them like a ton of bricks. The realization that everything they have done up to this point has brought to this moment in time, this place, this opportunity. 

This time, this Olympics, after being on again, off again, maybe canceled, then postponed, trying to properly train during a pandemic, eventually competing while the pandemic still strides on... this time it's gotta be harder and stranger than any Olympics in recent history. 

For those of us who watch from the comfort of our cushy couches, these games give us something to cheer for. I, for one, haven't had a good excuse to yell at my tv for a long time. I'm not gonna lie, I missed it more than I thought. 

For those in it, I'm sure it would be very different. If I put myself in their shoes...

Beautiful...

A new city... but you can't really explore it because... frickin' Covid. Meeting new teammates, new friends, getting reacquainted with familiar faces. The opportunity to compete against people who love what you love, and push you to be your best at it. The pomp and circumstance you watched on tv as a kid, now you're here, you're in it, you are it, it is you. Your anthem ringing, echoing through the air as the flag of your country rises. Tears forcing their way through. Overwhelmed by joy, by an incredibly impossible blend of humility and pride. Beautiful.

Intimidating...

You're here. Really here. Sure it may be a different city, a different time, a different world, but it's still the same. The same spirit, the same test of both your physical and mental prowess. These are the same events your heroes competed in. It's their names in the record books. Who are you to think your name belongs on the same pages? The press screams how you should just be able to walk away with the gold, like it's a given. They don't seem to understand how many things have to go right for that to happen and how precious few have to go wrong for it not to happen at all. Intimidating.

Light...

The spectacle of the opening ceremonies, the medals, the personal bests, the time between to relax and goof around with teammates. The chance, though limited at these games, to attend events you aren't in with the sole purpose of cheering your friends on. Being the support you wish for when it's your turn. The incredible stories you'll have to tell when you get home and for the rest of your life. Light.

Dark...

The pressure felt to your core. The weight of your country on your shoulders. You don't want to let anyone down. Your parents who have sacrificed so much to support this dream. Your coaches, your sponsors, the little faces that you know look up to you. All of them. Everyone. The knowledge that all of your training, the years of work, all of your sacrifice, all comes down to a few moments on the field, in the pool, on the pitch. It feels like life or death. Dark.

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Events like the Olympics are a microcosm of life.

Beautiful...

Always new things to explore, people to meet, friends to keep, countless celebrations to take in along the way. Opportunities to do our best at what makes our souls shine, support to and the odd push to do just that. Overwhelmed by joy, by an incredibly impossible blend of humility and pride. Beautiful.

Intimidating...

The moments of questioning who you are to think you can do what you are trying to do. Who are you to think you can do it as well or maybe even better than someone else? Toxic people make a buffet of your self-doubt feeding with gluttonous fervour. Some feel like you should just be able to do it, without issue, like it's nothing. They don't seem to understand how many things have to go right for that to happen and how precious few have to go wrong for it not to happen at all. Intimidating.

Light...

The celebrations. The births and birthdays. The weddings and anniversaries. The family reunions. The backyard shenanigans. The time spent with little purpose but catching our breath. The chance to participate. The chance to cheer on others and support their dreams. The memories we create. The incredible stories you'll own to tell for the rest of your life. Light.

Dark...

The pressure to 'succeed'. The weight of your family on your shoulders. The fear of letting people down. The fear of disappointing those that look up to you. Not living up to others' expectations. Career choices. Life choices. Feeling the pressure to your core. It feels like life or death. Dark.

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I guess it boils down to this.

Without the dark would the light seem as bright, feel as warm?

Without the intimidation, would the victory seem as sweet?

One moment in time can dictate everything that happens next. Yet, no matter how big, it is but a moment. 

The trick is to understand that the moments aren't always big, they aren't always cataclysmic, and almost all of the time it's not life or death. Next can be awesome and it's mostly baby steps that get us there. 

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For the athletes, both armchair and in the games...

May you hear our cheers from thousands of miles away, feel them, have them boost what needs boosting.

May your best be allowed to shine when it's time, with nothing to hinder your stride, with the outcome of your choosing. 

May this experience be everything you hoped for, everything you wished for, everything you wanted it to be.

May you know that everything it took to get where you are was worth it, the marvel of what you can do is an amazing sight to see. 

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A Splash Of Light At The End Of The Bridge...

Hi.

These ramblings are going up a bit early this week. 

The reason isn't a fun one. It's to attend the memorial of an awesome man who just happened to be the Dad of my dearest friend on the planet.

It will be a celebration of his life. A life brought to an abrupt end by Covid. A life that was full of a ton of love, joy, friendships, a fair amount of mischief, a lot of laughs, and its share of heartaches.

I look so forward to seeing my friend for the first time in over a year, I just wish it was under happier circumstances. 

Next time. Ooooooo and there will be many next times.

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Light falls in odd places. Sometimes in places we least expect.

There are times when the hard things seem like the only things. It seems that the joyful, happy things, the good things, get outnumbered, overshadowed, out-sized. It can be easy to become overwhelmed.

No matter how things seem to be falling apart at different degrees, in different aspects of your life, in different parts of the world, for different reasons, it's important to continue to remind ourselves that the hard things are never the only things.

There is always a glimmer of joy. A splash of light at the end of the bridge. It's important to remind ourselves that everything is a bridge, life has no dead ends. There is always a way, around, under, over, or through. You are 100 percent going to get bumped, bruised, and scarred up along the way, but that won't be all of it. You will have belly laughs, people to love, incredible surprises, and moments of unimaginable joy. 

Be greedy. Accumulate as many of the glimmers, splashes, and moments as you can. Create them where you are able, accept and appreciate the ones that fall in your lap. 

If this past year or so has taught us anything, it's not to waste our time on this spinning marble we call home.

Spend your precious time on things that really matter to you, with people who really matter to you, in places that really matter to you.

We all need to make a living. That's a given. But, making your living isn't your life. Better yet, find the thing that lights you up and do your level best to make your living doing that, at least part of it. 

Wait tables between gigs. Clean toilets, while creating and selling your hand-crafted jewelry. Work an assembly line while providing after-school programs for at-risk kids. Work retail while writing your book. Flip burgers while you paint your masterpiece.

Make the jewelry, create the cake, sing the song, do the play, write the book, bring the joy, be open to the unexpected splashes of light. 

The hard things are never the only things. 

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May we find joy, create joy, hoard it, spread it, accept it, build it into our every day.

May we embrace it, hold it, nurture it, bring it in, give it a home, let it stay. 

May we see that the hard things are never the only things, just a fraction of the whole.

May we allow ourselves to sing the song, dance the dance, write the book, do what feeds our soul.

May we all find our splashes of light, in whatever form they take.

May we find a kinder way to live, our humanity is what's at stake.

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