To my fellow feelers:

A note of encouragement in the midst of a lot happening in the world.

The ones of us who notice, who empathize deeply, who are filled with passion, who feel the weight of the world while simultaneously feeling in awe at the goodness that can be —

Sometimes this life can feel incredibly overwhelming. I've found myself thinking "this is just so much" on many occasions, unsure of how to process the looming awareness of both the beauty and the brokenness of this world and the constant contemplation of what to do to help heal it.

Today I'd like to remind you that at the root of all the feelings you hold is love. The sadness is love. The joy is love. The grief is love. The empathy is love. These feelings within you are a gift - though overwhelming at times, they represent a love for humanity that exists despite the abundance of indifference that surrounds us, trying to call us into a state of neutrality about the things that truly matter.

You are not too much. You are simply noticing. We need you to notice. WE need to notice. I believe so much of the beauty in the way we are wired is in the noticing; it's in the acknowledgment of what's bubbling up within us so that when we are ready, we can redirect all of it towards building a more kind, compassionate, humane, empathetic, loving, gentle, and good world.

There will be days when you feel unable to do anything. You may wonder how to fix things. You may feel helpless. Have grace for yourself in these moments, as often it is the mere acceptance of the truth of the world that lays the groundwork for change. Allow yourself to be sad, to grieve, to sit in the discomfort and vocalize it and write about it and continue to lean in. There is preparation for the moments we are called to be the change that is done during the hours we spend thinking and reading and engorged with a love for this world that can feel impossible to navigate at times.

You are not broken for feeling the weight of the world - just the opposite, in fact. You're whole - and we desperately need you to never for once believe that the love within you is too much.

Always,

E