It’s taking a chance to show up and count.
While knowing there’s challenge,
A major amount
It’s listening and being.
It’s giving out grace.
Creating some beauty inside your own space.
Look out around you,
Then look within,
Trust that some people want you to win.
Encourage the struggling.
Celebrate all.
Bring out the bandaids when there is a fall.
There are expectations,
And don’t forget,
You can’t burst a bubble without getting wet.
Everyone struggles and everyone knows
This only works if everyone grows.
Don’t expect to get through unchanged.
Your heart and your mind will be rearranged.
It’s going to stretch you.
It’s going to hurt.
And, mostly likely, you’ll end up in the dirt.
But in all the struggle, the chaos, the din,
You’ll notice you actually start to fit in.
By Jennifer Lubanski
Written for the Ellensburg Arts and Cultural Alliance: 7/16/23