Yesterday was a particularly difficult day. Everything felt unbearably heavy. The weight of despair finally came crashing down on me. I burst into tears.

I then decided to lie down on the floor & watch the moonlit sky from my balcony. I could feel the coldness of the floor seep into my back & shatter the numbness entrenched in my chest. It was liberating to feel the essence of my existence in the midst of all the emotional chaos.

None of what’s going on is easy for many of us. Having to constantly confront the purveyors of despair and tend to the deep wounds they inflict on us is an onerous task.

I’m still struggling to deal with despair but I do know one thing: it’s imperative that we honour our emotions. Feel every feeling that we have. Do not let anyone shame us for feeling too deeply.

By allowing ourselves to acknowledge the different emotions nesting in our chests, we are giving ourselves permission to not only feel sadness and pain, but also joy.

Last night I found joy in Malcolm X’s smile. I kept playing the voice note my sistercomrade @kjorene sent me. I did karaoke on the phone for an hour before going to bed. The heaviness I felt disappeared when I woke up this morning.

May we all find the strength to heal.