today we remember

their sacrifice

every day i am reminded

of why they sacrificed

& how we seem to have forgotten this

they sacrificed

their lives or their ability to live

for a safe & free society

what would they feel

if they saw

the reminders that are too easy to find

that we do not live in a safe and free society

for we need connection

to be safe

to be free

do you feel safe

to be yourself when you look into the mirror & see your true self reflected back

do you feel free

to be yourself by acknowledging this reflection & sharing it with others

do you feel safe & free enough

to entertain connection

not the superficial, mask-wearing, fitting-in type of connection you share with others’ masks

not the doom-scrolling, solitary, dopamine farming type of connection your thumb shares with your phone

rather the deep, authentic, vulnerable, soul-quenching type of connection you share with others’ true selves

yeah

me neither

how can we fix this?

how can we connect more

& disconnect less

& divide less

well

it will be hard & it will be scary

but not as hard as remembering

those who sacrificed themselves

or those who are sacrificed by our disconnected society

but not as scary as seeing

the common threads of our disconnection

the horrors of our society

genocide, femicide, suicide

driven by hate, anger, division

instead of living with these hard reminders

i yearn

for us to choose the hard option

that most of us were never shown how to do

that most of us do not know how to do

be vulnerable with others

let them see who you are

if they ask

tell them how you truely are

speak your truth

& if others are vulnerable with you

do not rush to solve their problems

hold space for them

be compassionate

be empathetic

be silent so you can listen to them speak their truths

i yearn

for us to choose the hard option

vulnerability & empathy

authentically seeing each others authentic selves

these are the seeds of connection that we can spread

that will germinate & grow connection

within each of us with our true selves

within all of us so that we can be our true selves

i yearn

for us to choose the hard option

it is infectious in the most beautiful way

it will transform the lens we use to view the world

if we choose courage & vulnerability

we will see our shared humanity everywhere we look

in humans that make different choices to you

in humans that identify with different labels to you

once we see this we will see that all humans deserves

the same dignity & respect we show to those we remember today

if we can teach ourselves and others to see shared humanity

we will grow the connection we need as humans

our connection to ourselves and each other will help us heal ourselves and each other

today i want you to remember

to remember every day

that we can fix the fractured world around us

& the fractured world within each of us

to remember every day

to give yourself the permission to be vulnerable with yourself & others

to hold space & be safe for others to be vulnerable with you