Nothing is Fixed

It’s been a heavy week y’all. No matter the politics, it is always difficult to regulate the nervous system while hearing of and moving through the tragedies of the world. Not only the divisiveness in the real life conflict but the divisiveness that has been present on social media this week has kept me thinking of this quote from James Baldwin:

For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light falls, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.

For those of us privileged enough to be watching tragedy unfold, rather than experience it first- or secondhand, it is our responsibility to bear witness and to hold each other through grief.