To Those Who Are Scared, A Letter of Hope
My 8 year old son has been learning about Martin Luther King Jr. at his elementary school. I’ve overheard him singing the words, “I have a dream.” He’s learning about the way things used to be and how bravery can spark a movement of change. We’ve talked about how important it is to know our history, and that it hasn’t always been good in the United States. And that unfortunately, people still hold beliefs that they are better than others. He knows those people are not our kind of people. He speaks about how wrong that would be to go backwards, and how good it was for MLK Jr. to be so brave and nonviolent and change so much.
I share this because if you’re someone who is struggling to find the light in the depths of incredibly dark times in this world, know we are still shining our light bright for you to find us. We’re still doing the work of raising incredible and good human beings. There are more of us out there. We’re tired and grieving and struggling, but we’re committed.
We’re committed to raising our babies with critical thinking skills.
We’re committed to emphasizing kindness, but also knowing when to be brave and speak up.
We’re committed to showing affection, as it’s our small act of rebellion everyday, in a world that tries to harden us.
We’re committed to unconditional love under our roofs.
We’re committed to teaching when to be polite, and when to roar.
We’re committed to teaching “No.” as a full sentence, not a negotiation.
We’re committed to having the hard conversations, even while we’re still trying to process it all in real time.
We’re scared. We’re enraged. We may breakdown, but we will always rise, steadfast in our commitment.
So on the days you feel hopeless for the world, the days you feel helpless, search for our lights. Because we’re everywhere, all around you, tirelessly wanting to be better, do better, and to keep the magic of love alive. Seeing your light shine back is literally what is pulling us through, too. On the days when the world is just too much, just keep your light on, just a little, just enough, because you have to remember ~ there are more of us out there looking for it. We’re living off of fear, hope, caffeine, and a whole heck of a lotta love. We’ve never been more certain of our truth and we’re beyond committed.
Warmly, and In Solidarity,
Amber
