Healing doesn't ask us to look away

over the past twenty four hours

there has been a hurt and a heaviness,

moving through hearts, and through nervous systems,

following the violence and terror

directed toward the Jewish community here in Sydney.

for some, this pain is immediate and personal.

for others, it may be quieter, and still heavy.

a sense of unease, grief, numbness, anger,

arriving through witnessing, imagining, remembering, and caring.

a sense that the world has shifted,

and our shared sense of safety feeling ruptured,

even if we are not directly touched.

when violence enters our communities,

it moves through bodies, hearts, and memory.

your body holding more tension,

emotions sitting closer to the surface,

your nervous system responding to threat, hatred, and harm,

there is no 'right' way to respond to collective trauma.

you are allowed to slow down,

to reach for comfort, connection, steadiness, support.

to turn the volume down on the news,

and where able, hold choice and intention

around what, and how much you absorb.

healing doesn't ask us to look away -

it asks us to tend gently to what has been stirred.

there is no rush, and no wrong way to be here.

let this be met slowly, kindly, and at your own pace.