I woke up yesterday from a night of bad dreams, and the moment I opened my eyes, these words started pouring out of me and I knew I had to get them down in order to be able to let this go … for whatever it’s worth, these are my two cents…

The tough times
Aren’t meant
To break us.
They’re meant to
Shape and sculpt us
Into who we are
Becoming –
The next level
Of growth
In who we are
Meant to be.

The tears
We shed
Are meant to
Humble us,
And ground us.
A reminder for us
Of the kindness
And compassion
This world,
And people
Surrounding us-
Need.

We’re all fighting
Battles
Or health issues
Behind
Closed doors
Most people
Never see.

These days,
I would argue,
Most of us
Are often
Disconnected,,
Over-stimulated,
Rarely present,
And too busy
To process and
Heal from
All the things
That continue
To make our
Mind, body,
And spirit
Bleed…
Including me.

The overwhelm.
Our constant
Hustle and bustle-
Always moving.
This world
Is always in a hurry.
We’re so busy
Speeding through
Our days
From A to B
To C to D to E.
Just to get by.
Just to provide-
For our families.
And then-
Many of us
Are struggling to sleep,
And the hours of rest
We actually get-
Never feel like
Enough-
At least for me.

The mindless scrolling,
Binge-watching,
Numbing, vanity-driven
Distractions
Are carrying us all
Further and further away
From the true meaning
Of this life
And living-
Daily.
This frightening pattern
Is slowly killing
The very fabric
That connects us.
The deeper connection,
And sense of community
Is meant to support
And protect us.
As people-
We are more divided,
And more conflicted
Than ever before-
Slamming each other
Online in comments
Behind screens
And closed doors
Over disagreements…
Disagreements-
Over the muddied,
Skewed and
Extremely divided
Waters of corrupt
Media outlets and politics.
This division
Doesn’t suit us.
It’s gutting us.
Turning us
Against one another.
The hate
Certainly won’t fix this.
And I’ll be honest
When I say,
I don’t know
What the answer is-
But I do believe this-

We all need
To pause,
To reconnect
With ourselves,
To God,
The universe,
And our hearts.
We need more time
Out in nature.
More peace,
And quiet,
More time to
Think and breathe-
To reflect, meditate
And pray.
To sit and listen
To the silence.
Allowing ourselves
To reset
And to just be…
To be at ease-
To listen to the breeze,
Watching the birds
Flutter, soar,
And dance
Across the sky,
So effortlessly.
It’s live poetry-
In motion…
To just sit still
And watch the clouds
Form and fade,
Build up, roll in,
And release
Snow or rain,
Or allow
Warm sunshine
To shine through
The cracks
And down
Upon our face.
The raw beauty,
Of this world
And the wildlife buzzing
All around us
Is a gift to behold.
The awe-inspiring
Magic of our earth.
The power, the fragility,
And true honor
Of what it means
To breathe,
To be alive,
To be alongside
Our loved ones,
To be present,
And to feel heard.

We all want the same.
We all want better-
For ourselves,
For our children,
And grandchildren.
For our country,
And for each other.
Let’s all do better-
And be better-
For the higher good.

-Tanielle Childers 12.02.25