With the effects of climate change, and our skies clouded by smoke, finding the sunshine can feel heavy.

Our family finished watching all three seasons of @AnneWithAnE on Saturday. We mourned the last episode & hope & need more seasons. I’m so grateful for the friends who encouraged us to check it out, as our loyalty to the Megan Follows Anne was blinded by ardent adoration.

The new version is different. It takes the stories, the emotions and the relationships deeper. It reflects the beauty of imagination and shows us how to confront and survive reality with the force of our hearts.

Towards the end of the series, there’s a powerful sequence of events where the band of classmates begin to understand the importance of rising up, together, against inequality, corruption, and deceit. It’s a powerful and timely moment for our time.

When you realize so many injustices to women, minorities, disenfranchised neighbors in the community, those deemed different from the uptight, religious status quo, aren’t far removed, & this is a battle we’re still fighting, & must continue to carry on for equality & justice.

These last few days I’ve been marinating on Anne with an E and its themes, character growth and how they expanded characters in this brilliant take on one of my favorite literary characters.

The spirit of Anne, and what has always drawn her to me, is her indomitable spirit to imagine a better life, a happier way. While faced with a reality where the sun couldn’t touch her face, she persisted in reaching for it, knowing she was worth it.

May we have that same strength, as tired and beaten down we feel right now, as we see character and decency shunted aside for comfort, complacency and preserving a corrupt status quo.

May we understand our worth and the worth of our brothers and sisters who need us to own our power and choose the better part. We matter. Each life is precious and deserves the chance for equality and to feel that glorious sunshine on our faces.

May we stand up, speak out and be each other’s sunshine.