Some people will still try to play you every so often, knowing exactly which chord to strum to make you feel as if you owe them your time, your attention, your favor, your surrender, your pain. Some people see weakness in your compassion and care; and they’ll try to extort them in an attempt to […]
We love in little ways that are bigger than they seem. We love by offering smiles when we’re crying inside. We love by lifting others when we feel torn down. We love by holding – holding doors, holding hands, holding hope, holding on. We love by letting go – our fears, our regrets, expectations, definitions, […]
There came a time when I needed a mother, when that’s what I wanted most and yet I couldn’t have. There came a time when I needed comfort and care, so I started by admitting that I felt abandoned. There came a time when I needed support, so I started by confessing that I felt […]
All this beauty is yours. All of these stars shine and all of these flowers bloom for you. The misty mountains were carved out with your pleasure in mind, and the sparkles of afternoon sun on the water are to favor your eyes. The peacocks blazon, the wolves howl, and skies blush for you; and […]
A roll of thunder explodes from inside of her chest as the tempest stirs, awakens, and begins to rise. With the impending threat of a storm, a curtain of velvet drops over the world and, one by one, heavy drops drip from her slowly darkening eyes. At first heavy and hot, then cold and sharp, […]
I didn’t find my way back with grace but with grit – one day, one second, one fear, one tear, one storm at a time. I stumbled along, dragging the tattered scraps of dreams behind me – pleading, bleeding, and breathing in rhyme. At times it seemed the world was being washed away in a […]
In that moment, she decided that never again would she wake up a slave to the remnants of days before. From then on, she would start her days with the simplest of affirmations. Each morning, she would close her eyes, take a deep breath, and feel her way to the complete conviction that today is […]
Some of us are built of something different. Some of us need to be uprooted in order to grow. We have to deliberately let go of everything that grounds us, that shelters us, that defines and confines what’s real. Some of us have to burn, to break, to jump, to implode – because in that […]
The truth is that very little of it really matters. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether it’s labeled a failure or success. It doesn’t matter if they turned out to be trustworthy or they burned you the minute your back was turned. It doesn’t even matter what you managed to hold on to versus […]
Immigrant is just another word for person. Illegal immigrants are just people too. People who are trying to find peace, who are trying to escape danger, who are hoping to find equal opportunity. People who had to circumvent the system, but who nonetheless have reasons for everything that they do. Reasons that aren’t all that […]
Don’t tell me I’m pretty; I had no say in the matter of my looks. I didn’t choose what features I would have or what shape my body would take. I didn’t create the palette from which my eyes, hair, and skin were painted; nor did I hold the chisel that crafted my frame. Tell […]
It is time. It’s time to rise. It’s time to step up, to step out, to step into our truth, our power, our missions, our might. Now is the time to offer support, protection, and encouragement. Now, as the world is awakening and so many people are shaking off the last remnants of sleep. Now […]
