For me, if there is one word that encapsulates this past year, that word is grief. Not one of us has been spared the grief over someone we’ve lost, loved ones we’ve missed, parts of ourselves that have been shelved, or milestones we couldn’t share. Grief has become universal, and yet, grief is one of the most intimate emotions one can experience. It hits each of us at different times in different ways. There is not one way to experience it and certainly not to “get over” it. 

​In the face of so much loss and such mass grief, I sometimes worry that we’re overlooking the deeply personal nature of what individuals are being asked to withstand. I wonder how you, sitting there reading this, are coping with your own grief. I wonder if you’re giving yourself the compassion, kindness, and care you would show another person. I wonder how much is being laid by the wayside in the struggle to be strong and get through each day.