January 24, 2020

I barely got out of bed yesterday — and while today hasn’t faired too much better, I am feeling significantly less bad or slightly more okay, small yet positive shifts I will gladly take right now. Last night, while burdened by medical stresses and agonizing decisions, a friend texted me: Check out the sunset. I stopped what I was doing, went to the window and looked out upon a majestic fiery pink sky — a marvel that soon filled my Instagram and Facebook feeds with stunning posts by friends (an image I only captured in my mind’s eye). Though it often feels like I am a world away from loved ones and community, even those who live right here in Marin County, this simple message and single moment reminded me that we are all living and breathing under the same sky on the same earth at the same time. My dear friend lives just over the mountain in Mill Valley, knew I was home, understood the darkness I am navigating and, by thinking to send four words from his fingertips to my screen, he literally and metaphorically opened my eyes, reconnected me with forces greater than either of us, and brightened my life. I sit here this evening looking out from my same perch, breathing deeply and honoring the passage of time, natural beauty and human connectivity. Remember the power of reaching out, of relationships, of perspective, of the present, of nature, of light. ✨ Shabbat shalom.