This isn’t my usual kind of post.
I usually share bright colorful things that make me feel happy.

On this cold winter day I feel sad.
No.
I’m heartbroken.

I am heartbroken for so many things across this world. so many horrible things. things that have kept me up at night my entire life. pain. greed. war. all the other words I’m not allowed to use on social media because big brother has an algorithmic gag order on us all.

I am heartbroken.
but I am not broken.

Our world is heartbroken.
but it is not broken.

We stand.

We stand when the atrocities are overseas.
and when they are next door.
or in our own families.
behind our own doors.

We stand.

We do not give up.

We stand.
and we smile.
We find laughter in the heartache.
We find love in the pain.

We do not thank the atrocities for these beautiful things we find wrapped inside. but we thank our gods and our friends and our mentors and the brave souls who stand up for what’s right. we thank them for helping us find light in the long goodnight.

And so I stand in the bitter cold in this icy shore. and I shed a tear that freezes to me. But I am not frozen.

I stand in the stillness. the quiet.

I am heartbroken.
I am human.
I am love.
I am gratitude.

✌️