Les Douces

It’s okay to feel heavy these days.

Really, it is.

I believe I speak for many when I say we are witnessing a world frozen in shock – powerless before crimes too big for words.

As if the breath is stolen from our lungs, and something heavy presses down on our chests.

Helplessness floats in the air. Sometimes it whispers. Sometimes it screams.

And it’s okay to feel that way.

It’s okay to wake up in the morning and carry that weight with you. It’s okay to want to cry. To want to scream. To not know where to place the ache.

But let me just say this:

Moments like these, they do pull us closer.

They crack open our hearts and remind us that we are, above all, human. We don’t have to hold this pain alone. That we stand together for humanity. We feel it together. We fight together.

And one day, we’ll rise from this darkness more united, even if it doesn’t feel like that just yet.

Yes, it is okay to feel heavy but it is just as okay to feel light. To laugh. To celebrate. To let joy in. To dance in the middle of chaos. Because we are still here.

We are alive.

Let your coffee taste sweeter today.

Let the walk under the trees calm your nerves.

Let the sun kiss your skin a little longer.

Let your family’s smile hold you a little closer.

In those moments, I always tell myself:

Choose life.

Make something beautiful out of every single day. Because we can still choose.

Live for those who no longer can. For every soul silenced too soon.

Be grateful.

Be alive.

Be joyful.

Be loud.

You’re allowed to feel it all and still hold space in your heart for what is happening in this world.