Dear Fall...

I’m not going to try to sugar coat it… things are pretty shitty right now. It seems like no matter where you turn, the world is on fire (both figuratively, and literally). And outside of the pandemic, the election, the fires, and god-knows what else, my closest friends are all going through major life situations right now and altogether it seems like the world is just HEAVY.

Many of my creative friends have recently vented to me saying things like, “I mean, what’s the point in even creating right now. My work doesn’t matter in comparison to what the world is going through.” And I agree that it’s so easy to feel like creating art in times like this is frivolous or unnecessary. But I was talking to someone much wiser than me the other day, and she reminded me that when things are the darkest, that is when putting beauty out into the world is the most important. People need a reminder that there is still light and beauty in the world; that the negativity doesn’t have to be all-encompassing.

Turning your focus away from the bad news to appreciate the beauty around you doesn’t mean that you’re not paying attention or that you’re negating the troubles that people are going through. You can feel both joy and sadness at the same time. You can have beauty and pain living side by side.

And as I took a walk in the woods yesterday on one of the most beautiful days of the year, the changing fall colors reminded me that nothing is permanent. That even the worst seasons don’t last forever. That someday we’ll be able to look back at these times and say, “God, that was awful, but we made it through.”

When I come out on the other side of this season, I don’t want to have lost my light. I want to come out stronger (though maybe I bit more tired). And if nothing else, I’ll know not to take the beauty around me for granted again.

Hang in there you guys. We can get through this.

~ Kristin