Life can be really brutal. Other humans can be really brutal, and it can feel like an affront to our innate sense of innocence and belonging. For me, it hasn’t been something that simply unfolds or grows. It has been something I’ve had to fight for, again and again, to not let be buried. And what I’ve learned over time is that life itself wants to keep living. Sometimes the work is to simply not close ourselves off to it.

When violence erupts, it reveals something larger than the act itself. We see the event, but beneath it are currents shaping the whole of our shared life: people swept into binary outrage, voices using divisive language or failing to stand for love, cruelty disguised as righteousness, and a collapse of discernment so complete that even those dedicated to truth are caught in its undertow.

When we see the sacredness of existence, the question is never truly "is it worth the care?". That is missing the point. The question is always, “what accountability am I willing to exercise here and to what will I exercise it?”