Dear Friend,

We cannot claim the inheritance of stars and skies. The world was not created to charm us into certainty. This world is not our birthright. Nature’s grace moves swiftly and beautifully past us. We fold and unfold by the things that carry us. We build houses on hills, the fallacy of kings with castles. White picket fence dreams itself into concrete. Skyscrapers, an architect’s dream. Church bells ring near where the sun sets. What moves us, greed or peace? We sing in choirs, chanting godly hymns perhaps casting something greater than faith within our skin.

I want you to know something and hear me when I say this; I want you to live. Not because this world owes us something or we owe the world all of who we are, but rather we owe ourselves this chance; our birthright.

Times are uncertain, people are wavering, but you are constant. Even when your strength wavers, your presence is constant not by fate, but by choice. Remember that and live in service of that.

We will not change the world in swift and bold actions within singularities. We are connected beings, so live into the social creature you are. Live in the company of laughter, of friends, of family, in the comfort of knowing our lives are time-bound but our legacies transcend past us.

We are not meant to exist forever. Our lives are a death sentence, but what happens between where we begin and when are bodies chosen to lay to rest-that is where you cannot let darkness overwhelm you. No, do not let light escape you.

You are millenniums of ancestry forged with strength in your bones. Rise and stand tall. This life is yours to build, no one else can do what you will do with this life. No one else is capable of making this life more authentic to you than you.

We do not get to choose where the road ends, but how we get there and what we choose to bring with us. In your journey, I hope you will always carry hope, gratitude, and reckless imagination for the future. You do not live in singularities so rejoice in the truth that you are one of many. You do not have to carry the weight of your world on your shoulders; you aren’t meant to navigate this world in isolation. And on the days you feel alone remember this.

We cannot claim the inheritance of stars nor skies, but we can bask in the moonlight within the beauty that nature has architected before us. We can let the warmth of sunbeams comfort our souls. This world moves on and so do you. We’ve got this one precious life, so live on and live well.

Your friend,
Michelle