To be sure, this is our experience; this does not define who we are. We are human, we are connected with the Divine, and we are strong! We choose relationship and embrace, rejecting malice, cynicism, dehumanization. We allow pain to touch our souls, yet not to take up residence. We invite joy, intentionally practice patient and persistent hope, declare that our very breath connects us with God and with each other. Our words and thoughts reflect a higher purpose—one of restoration, reconnection, redemption. 

With voices raised, eyes clear, hearts open, fists clenched—not in hatred but in resistance to the forces that battle for twisted allegiance—we join the ranks of those who throughout history have stood strong. We are those who continue to sing, to dance, to pray, to eat, laugh, and create because we, too, shall overcome. We shall overcome again and again and again. We, too, belong to this abundant, beleaguered yet resilient planet, and we will fight for our human siblings, sojourning creatures in nature, and our Earth. 

This is who we are.

Image by Jon Tyson via unsplash.com (open source)