I think of the pain in the world today.

Somewhere, an animal is afraid.

Its eyes wide, its breath shallow, its fate sealed by hands it cannot escape.

I cannot see it.

I feel it.

And though I cannot stop every blade,

I will not close my heart.

Let this ache in my chest not drown me, but deepen me.

Let me not be paralysed by what I cannot fix, but be guided by what I can love.

Today, I hold my dogs close — their warmth, their trust, their unspoken joy.

And I send that love outward.

I am not a saint.

I am not without contradictions.

I light a quiet candle in my heart.

Not one of outrage,

but of feeling.