To all the people affected by the Malaysian Airlines crash.

To the brave souls that have passed. To the families, friends and loved ones left behind. To everyone that has ever lost someone close to their hearts.

To every man, woman and child touched by tragedy and sorrow and hurt.

May we all find peace in the eye of the storm. May we overcome. May we survive. May we accept and surrender to this harsh new reality and may we let it seep into the far corners of our being. May we let ourselves feel and cry and scream and claw at the uncertainty of this fragile life without holding back.

May we get up in the middle of the night and allow the emptiness to overcome us.

May we sob into our pillows and wail with despair and punch our fists through the wall when we need to and may we feel and feel and feel it all. May we cling to our life rafts of hope as we float aimlessly through the vast sea of mourning and may we never let go of the small voice inside our souls that whispers: “this too, shall pass.”

May we sit in in the park on a sunny day listening to the sounds of children laughing, and not feel anything at all. May we pretend to move on and smile at acquaintances and go back to work and deep down know that no matter how much we try, nothing will ever be the same.

May we know that this is all okay. May we do and say and feel whatever calls us during this time. May we surrender completely and utterly to the gut wrenching agony that is losing the ones we love.

And through that, may we all heal. May we all use this pain to transform and grow and flourish in the glow that follows. May we make our way back to the surface and show the world more courage than we ever have before.

May we see the light in the darkness and bring it into the depths of our aching, throbbing hearts and may we pour that light back out into the world.

May we be brave.

May we muster the strength to move through wave after wave of unbearable grief and when we finally get a break and a moment to breathe, may we come up for a gulp of air and the hint of a smile and not feel guilty for allowing the tide to move us towards the shore.

Above all: may we never, ever, ever give up.

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Editor: Renée Picard

Images: courtesy of Rachel Brathen