A dear friend of mine gave me a mug for my birthday this past year with the note that read “Celebrate the Small Victories.” This year, especially, this seems to be such an important statement. In addition to all of our own individual struggles, we have been shoulder-deep in this pandemic, battling compassion fatigue and a bit of burnout, and navigating the widespread divisions, ruptures, and pain in our country. This time has been nothing short of overwhelming. And we are not yet able to see the light at the end of the tunnel (trust me, it is there).

This has been a time for deep reflection. I have been, in what I call, a perpetual cycle of “rupture and repair”. In this, I have found myself face to face with shame narratives I both had been running from and, honestly, did not know existed.