Today, with hospitals overflowing, a blockade in Ethiopia preventing sick children from getting medicine, anger, sorrow, and hate being constant presences on our spinning orb, I wonder, “what does God think about all of this?” Are we humans simply destined to die off rather than thrive? I question what’s happened to “humanity”—the qualities of benevolence, kindness, and care.  

I’m reminded of a story I read in December about a Black woman named Anjanette Young—a social worker who was handcuffed, naked after police officers stormed into her home looking for a man that hadn’t lived there for four years. Her life will never be the same despite a financial settlement. (Money can not buy peace.)

Right after I read that disturbing story, an advertisement for a piece of Cartier jewelry popped up on my screen with the hashtag #CARTIERLOVEISALL. I thought, “how can a piece of jewelry be ‘all’ when many homes in our country are filled with objects never used?” I wondered how a bracelet or necklace could be more potent than food on the tables of hungry families. Or how can a pair of diamond earrings be “totality” when children are abused, and love is often meted out by the way someone looks or their net worth? 

This morning, the fifth day of another new year, I question what we have when all the “highs” have played out—when the material possessions have been bought. What’s taken for granted until it’s gone—the person you loved but never told, the pain you inflicted on another but never apologized for, the coveted purchases chosen over heartfelt conversations, the stony silence instead of exchanges from the heart? 

If this day was your last, what would you regret?
What paths you sought would you not have walked?
What words of love you felt would you not have shared?
Do those things before it’s too late.
Life is fragile.
Live it with no regrets.

May 2022 grace you with joy, bless you with love, and honor you with peace,
Kay