The world feels incredibly heavy right now, wrought with disheartening news that is hard to parse out. Where do we go to understand? What do we do? Watch social media and post something to feel like we’re making an impact?

It’s people, jokes, smiles and small moments that build a life. Carving out time for the things that make you happy — that make you want to put your phone down and get out of the grind, off the grid. It’s seeking out the things, people, and moments that make you want to sit back and smile — to be genuinely happy. Building a lifetime of those moments — that is happiness.

We’re faced with choices of what is important to us every day — how we spend our money, our time, where we choose to be and travel to, and who we choose to surround ourselves with. The sum of those parts create our immediate world and the foundation for our immediate happiness.

Vulnerability asks us to feel everything, the good and the bad. To learn to view it and accept it, and if you’re lucky and strong-willed enough, to start growing from it. To shift how you view the world; to choose what lens you want to see the world.

We have different normals. We cope with change on a small scale every single day. We face change in large scale ways a few times in our lives, and if we’re fortunate, very few. Tapping into that vulnerability, extending grace to ourselves, is what can save us.

I’m far from perfect, but I love to talk. I love people, helping them, inspiring them, being the friend who’s always there, no questions asked. My high school best friend calls me a “giver” and this many years later, I can acknowledge she was right. I give and support all of those around me. Why not give some light in what can be a dark world, especially now?