THERE IS STILL ROOM TO HEAL

You are learning to hold the tension
of a lot of different things.
You are learning to accept the way
some flowers take many seasons to bloom.
You are learning to accept:
some conversations will be difficult to have,
and some will be easier. 
Some emotions will be easier to express than others.
Sometimes, forgiveness takes weeks.
Other times, decades.

And through it all, your heart is still beating. 
There is still room for healing,
even in the places where everyone else
seems to have moved on from what happened.

Be gentle with yourself.
Be gentle when you are trying to be grateful 
for where you are, while you are still missing what was.
Be gentle when you are putting a smile on your face,
and on the inside,
you do not know how you actually feel.
Lean into grace that reminds you:
there is no shame if it takes time to work through this.
There is still room to heal.

Even when it comes to those who seem to have a much better grip on working through things than you do, remember, at any given moment, we're all working through something. We're all faced with some unknown whether we know it or not.

So if it all feels like too much…it’s because it is too much. It’s too much for any one person to try and work through on their own. You're not traveling through this alone.

So when you’re feeling the weight of the world, know that in 7 billion different ways, we’re all feeling it. And all by grace, day by day, there is room for us to work through this. It’s not going to be easy. Making sure everyone’s needs are met is lifelong work that takes all of us, but maybe, it’s possible. Maybe there’s hope. Not wishful thinking, but hope.

May hope rise among us for every tired, weary, broken heart. Let hope strengthen us into action so that we may grow in our collective awareness of each other, letting every interaction be a reminder: none of us are in this alone.

Breathe deep. Stay connected.
Together, we will hold the tension of things.
Some flowers will take longer to bloom.
And this is also true: there is still hope for our uncertainty.

Breathe deep. Stay connected.
Breathe deep. Stay connected.

Word of the day: Connected (adj): “brought together” (Oxford Languages)
Affirmation: I am connected. Even here, I am a part of the greater whole.
Journal: Close your eyes. Let someone cross your mind. How can you be present to them today?

More in this week's series called "You are Changing in Beautiful Ways", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.

Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols