Vol. 20: These Trying Times

I'm not going to lie y'all. It's been harder to just go about life recently with everything going on.

It's hard to be happy in your personal life when you see so much pain in the world. When you smile when you look up at your own life, but frown when you see others.

I guess that's empathy, right?

I don't have all the answers. I won't, and no one person will.

In fact, this newsletter is my active way of thinking through my thoughts on how we move forward.

In trying times, we need things to fall back on. To ground us. In the mix of my own emotions - anger, frustration, hope, joy - here are the things I keep coming back to:

1. What is love in this situation, and how do I align with it? This is the most important thing we all should operate out of. Love is the universal language. Love is what binds us. Every human knows what love is in their core (even other animals). You don't have to speak the same verbal language, follow the same religion, or come from the same cultural background to communicate love. We feel it. We know it. And we know what it isn't. What is love in this situation, and how do I align with it? In other words, for my Christian friends: "What would Jesus do?"
2. What is truth in this situation, and how do I align with it? Not "what do I want to be true?" Not "what am I being told is true?" Not "what do other people say is true?" What are the facts? What is real? What can I witness with my own eyes and ears? What is truth in this situation, and how do I align with it?
3. Seek community. We are all human - we need each other. We exist to support one another. We are social creatures. Find community and support one another. Physically, mentally, spiritually, etc. We'll progress together, or we'll perish together. But regardless of the outcome, it will be together.
4. You matter. You, as an individual in a seemingly endless sea of more than 8 billion people. You matter. Both in the context of your own innate self worth as well as your impact on the world and people around you. It's easy to feel like you can't make a positive impact in the world. Like "what's one person to a whole society of issues?" But you can make an impact on the person next to you at the coffee shop, the person in your phone log, the person in your home. And that's where impact starts. You matter.

These are trying times, but humanity's had worse, and we've made it through. The division, the hate, the tragedy - let's not ignore it, propagate it, or devalue its gravity.

Let's love. Love ourselves. Love one another. Love thy neighbor.

Love prevails.

Love all.

See you next Thursday, Steppers.

We will succeed,

Grayson

​graysonstepanek.com​

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Song of the Week:

Flashlights in the Canyon Briscoe PREVIEW   ​

This song is beautiful, both in it's musical composition, story, and message. A country song on different lived experiences - a rancher and a woman - and the importance of being aware and empathetic of that. And how when worst comes to worst, all of our differences go away. We're all human.