Beirut, Jeanette LeBlanc
Meditation
We’re often told that tragedies are inevitable in this life, and that we can’t appreciate light without the darkness. This is said about some places in the world more than others, especially as we’ve become unfairly accustomed through media portrayals of the Middle East to accept war and destruction as an inevitable part of daily life. This week, LeBlanc’s words struck deep, “You have broken and the world is breaking.” Vastly greater and more powerful than the inevitability of tragedy, though, is the certainty of human resilience, of empathy, and of solidarity. LeBlanc reassures us that despite suffocating moments of heartbreak, “you are breathing.” Despite the loneliness of feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders, “you are held.” Now is the time to mourn, to question, to breathe, to hold and be held. As we try to make sense of the world breaking around us, let us remind each other of LeBlanc’s words: “We will always rebuild. Do you hear me, love? We will always rebuild.”
Brianna Curran, Washington, DC
