A few days ago, Molly—one of Elephant’s editors, who is based in Minneapolis—posted a question on Instagram that struck a chord with me:

“Life isn’t okay right now, and it’s hard to share ‘normal’ content right now…So why are we?”

It is emotionally exhausting, and honestly a little dystopian, to watch in horror as innocent people are murdered in the streets on social media and then edit an article about relationship advice or New Year’s resolutions. To sob while seeing children kidnapped by armed thugs and then pull myself together to feed my own child lunch.

There are days I think to myself, “F*ck. I hate it here.”

But Molly’s question, and the answer she provided readers, has served as a flicker of hope in a world that feels suffocating most days:

“It’s been a difficult few weeks. It’s been hard to go about life ‘as normal’ when nothing, absolutely nothing, is normal. ⁠
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Waylon reminded me recently why we’re still here, sharing our articles and uplifting our community voices: ‘Never forget it’s our job at Elephant to bring community and light and awareness and kindness and sanity to all this.’⁠
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So, why are we sharing ‘normal’ content right now? Because we are here to support community. We are here to bring mindfulness and kindness and sanity to the darkness, and to find the light. We are here to support you, and we hope our community is here, sees us, and is here to support us in return.”

We are all capable of bringing mindfulness and kindness and sanity to the darkness. Of bringing light to the dark.

Because even when it feels like the world is crumbling around us, there are still moments of “normal” that deserve to be held with presence.

Cuddling with my son in the morning when he’s still half asleep.
Spending a quiet birthday in my childhood home with my parents. 
Standing in the kitchen savoring a vanilla cupcake with sprinkles.
Letting the hot water wash over me in the shower.
Seeing my boyfriend’s name pop up on FaceTime.
Taking that first steamy sip of spicy ramen on a cold day.

This past week, we were in the path of the big snowstorm that hit a huge chunk of the country. I am not someone who loves snow. Even as a kid growing up on the East Coast, I was fine if I could stay inside and read a book and watch the snow fall from the window but I rarely jumped at the chance to go out and play in it.

Not much has changed since then, and I woke up the day after the storm slightly annoyed that we’d have to deal with the mess that comes with cleaning up snow and ice for at least the next week.

And then something flipped my perspective.

As I was hunkered down inside, trying to keep my toddler entertained and keep from descending into cabin fever, I saw this video posted by Beth and Don Kingston, and it left me in tears.

 

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A post shared by Beth and Don – life with the Kingstons (@thekingstonhome)

“This is my assistant Maegan.

When the winter storm hit, what was supposed to be a business trip to Philly turned into several members of my team hunkering down at our house for the weekend. Maegan has lived her entire life in Florida, and this was her first time seeing and touching and hearing and smelling and experiencing snow.

It was something I will never forget.

At a time when people are so angry and the news is so horrifying and everything feels so heavy, we have to remember that there is still joy. There are people falling in love, babies being born, the sound of children’s laughter, dog (and cat) snuggles, the perfect chocolate chip cookie, and dreams coming true.

Like seeing snow for the first time.

My wish for you is to experience this kind of pure joy. I didn’t realize how much I needed it, and who would’ve thought I’d find it in the middle of a snowstorm. May we all be a little like Maegan.”

Did it make me want to run outside and jump in the snow? No. (I am who I am.) But it did make me realize how many ordinary miracles we take for granted every day—or are too overwhelmed to notice.

Yes, the world is heavy right now. And we are rightfully angry and scared. So we fight and we resist and we spend our days trying to survive and help those around us and make the world more fair and just, even when there are so many who want to drag us deeper into darkness.

But there is still joy. And we need to remember that’s what we’re fighting for.

~