It’s been a minute.

The past 6 months have been…weird. There were moments, a lot of moments, that were simply bad. For a while it felt as though every single day was an extension of the day before — fraught with loneliness, doubt, anger, fear, and deep sadness. It felt as though my whole world was pressing in from all sides and I was buckling under an enormous weight that only grew heavier.

And yet…

In the midst of the hard days (and weeks and months) were days full of light and true friendship and holy, sacred laughter. When the weight bearing down on me became too heavy, there were those who stood next to me and carried it with me, and sometimes, for me. They came swiftly to my aid with phone calls, chats on the beach, affirmations and encouragement, memes, and The West Wing quotes. They shined their own light into the shadows until the light returned.

Really, there is no higher calling than to share a bit of ourselves with others. A bit of our strength, or faith, or hope, or light. These seem finite and conventional wisdom suggest to preserve them at all costs, to keep everything close in order to keep it safe, but really, the more that we share, the more that is returned to us. We become a kaleidoscope of all of the pieces of others who have loved us well, an ever-changing work of art that shifts to make space for every new piece that is added to us.

“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”

Anais Nin, The Diary of Anais Nin