Gratitude

Seeing as this was a year that will undoubtedly go down as one of the strangest in human history, it is not easy for anyone to find much to be grateful about. Especially after the litany of turbulent events everybody witnessed. Not only in the course of this year but over the few that has passed. Protests, discrimination, violence, and grief; a cavalcade of unrest and uncertainty sadly not unfamiliar within the nature of human history. Personally, it brought back a flood of repressed memories; the unsubtle vitriol and vicious rhetoric I have witnessed over the many years, either directed at me or others in my circle of friends. And as much as it pained me to have gone through and see others exposed to the mindless intolerance and hatred, along with having these events ignored or met with indifference, I am thankful for the insight such experiences have given me. It has helped me to further appreciate my friends (new and old) and family, their sage advice and support in these tumultuous times. I can only hope to carry this sentiment throughout the rest of the year, and beyond, into an unwritten future we can only hope will be filled with the compassion and empathy displayed by many people this year. Happy Thanksgiving and keep traversing the void!