When the World Feels Too Heavy: Choosing Strength in a World That Feels Broken

This week has been heavy, I don’t even know another way to put it. I woke up planning to share something lighter with you today, but it didn’t feel right. Too much has happened, and to write as if the world is normal would feel dishonest. 24 years ago, the world was forever changed by 9/11, a day of terror that still echoes through our collective memory. This week we saw the heartbreaking death of an innocent woman in North Carolina by a man who should’ve never been roaming free in our communities, we witnessed the brutal assassination of Charlie Kirk, and another school shooting. Each story carries its own weight of grief and fear - together, they create a world that feels unbearably chaotic. 

It would be easy to shut down. To numb ourselves. To pretend this isn’t happening. But healing doesn’t come from avoidance. Healing comes when we acknowledge the pain and then choose to rewire how we respond. 

Naming the pain 

We don’t honor victims by arguing over the details. Lives were stolen. Families are grieving. Communities are shaken. We carry the weight of these tragedies together.

Choosing stillness in storms

Chaos feeds on fear. But peace is a choice - not one that erases reality, but one that anchors us in the middle of it. A deep breath. A moment of silence. A walk without our phone. These small practices remind us that even in the noise, we can cultivate stillness. 

Rewiring our response

Violence teaches us to react with more anger, more division, more hopelessness. But we can choose to rewire. Rewiring looks like: 

• Responding with compassion when the world pushes us toward hatred 

• Turning to community instead of isolation 

• Grounding in gratitude for the people and moments still here with us

• Seeking growth, using tragedy as a reminder of the kind of world we want to build 

Honoring by living differently 

The greatest way we honor those we’ve lost is not just with remembrance, but with transformation. To live more intentionally. To love more openly. To pursue peace more fiercely than ever before. 

If today feels overwhelming, know you’re not alone. Take a breath. Remind yourself: I cannot control the chaos of the world, but I can choose how I meet it. 

Peace is not passive. It is resistance. And in moments like this, it may be the most powerful thing we can give ourselves - and each other.