As the fog of the past eighteen months continues to dissipate, it's impossible not to register the hurt of humanity around us. Everyone we know, everyone we see, has absorbed pain and uncertainty since the outbreak of the pandemic, and it shows. In the human race we want somebody else or a whole lot of somebody elses to understand, to just please get it, okay? And when it feels like nobody does, it's a lonely place, so maybe someone needs to hear this on the first day of August 2021:

Much of the world is still in dire straits, and here's a fact: It always has been. But the trajectory as we start another new month is onward and upward, which hey, happens to be our state motto: Ad Aspera Per Aspera - To The Stars Through Difficulty. Feels better, hm? And in case nobody's mentioned it since Christmas of 2019: If you're reading this, you're worthy of everything the world has to offer, so getcha' some.

So here's a simple rule of thumb...

And this, despite its typos, says good things:

*****

We're really not here very long...

*****

Best thing to know in the midst of chaos, sadness, happiness, all the time...

Happy Sunday, August 1, 2021, to all of us, with a hug for everyone who still stops by this blog. πŸ’™πŸ’‹