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| Photo by Valeria B. |
Through its exemplary artistry, the dance company Ballet Hispánico champions and amplifies the Latin American experience.
Through the power of dance, artistry, culture and movement, the audience is encapsulated with the joy, celebration and reverence to be found in Latinidad.
Ocean deep is the pain within my heart.
Yet, our love will never drown.
My love for you is vaster than the universe itself.
Self-sacrificial love. Pure selflessness.
You realize you have never truly lived until you have given this kind of love away.
By Missy Enaje
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| Courtesy Weyuna |
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| We can cultivate empathy in various ways. (Photo by cottonbro studio) |
At the age of 37, I know what it's like to plan, organize and orchestrate a funeral for a loved one. Without the support of my village, I wouldn't have the ability nor the strength to still be writing. But here I stand willing to talk about how imagination can cultivate empathy in different ways. Let me explain by talking about the morning when my child's funeral were to take place. Let us imagine once again.
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| (Photo by Johannes Plenio) |
It seems these days that it is becoming increasingly easier to find opportunities for comparison. Open up any social media app and you'll find yourself possibly inundated by photos, videos, reels of pockets of perfection.
The description I have read before is it's a collection of our highlight reels—moments that tend to capture mainly the best part of things, filtered through edits and time stamps that allude to feelings of FOMO, where you're missing out on life by comparison.
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| A few days after her birth, our hero, Isabella, had to get under the blue lights to work on her bilirubin levels with doctors and nurses in NICU. |
I had to do a courageous thing today.
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| Nature begs us to trust the process. |
By Missy Enaje
I started growing a memorial garden on behalf of my daughter. My sweet friend Amy and her family bought the perfect, blue solar butterfly light to complement this journey. She even gave me a bag filled with wildflower seeds. I was so excited to tend to this project and see where it lead.
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| I would choose you, my daughter, day after day. I would do it all over again! |
“Death is defeated, the King is alive”
Because of His stripes, we are redeemed. What does that mean for us, the brokenhearted believers?
The following excerpt comes from a fellow creative and grief linguist, John Onwuchekwa.
"Tears of sorrow and tears of joy both canalled into the corners of my mouth, and I realized they both tasted the same. In an instant, grief and hope, joy and sorrow intersected. I learned that grief and hope aren’t parallel streets that we travel down based on life’s circumstances.
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| My first-born daughter, Isabella, was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Trisomy 18, also known as Edward's Syndrome. Allowing her to write her own story has been the greatest honor of my life. |
Where do I begin? I am releasing a book I dedicated to my daughter, Isabella. I completed the book before she was born and wrote it in honor of her. I also discussed the rare genetic condition she had called Trisomy 18, which affects the development and viability of a child. While no cure currently exists, medical interventions have proven to extend the child's life at the risk of the child's quality of life. There is no middle ground: it's one hard decision vs. another hard decision.
Goodbye 2024.
The end of a year always comes packed with the idea that calls for transformation, renewal or something momentous. Well, it wasn't always like that, at least, during the times where I just really enjoyed partying in NYC. But as I get older, the latter seems to take precedence.
I realized that while the current view can be so unclear, unknown, unseen while we look at the view, once you get moving, once you start walking into the unknown, the fog dissipates. Things can be seen in front of you including a tree, the street and the sidewalk. But the fog doesn't allow you to see too far ahead of you, just enough for what's right in front of you.
That's where I am. Taking one step closer into the unknown, into the fog.
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| (Photo by Adrianna) |
Trust me, I get it. Walking into the unknown and uncertainty can be so frightening. I'm trying to reflect on that while knowing how many countless times in life we have had to walk into the mystery and just hope for the best. From the journey into college, post-graduate life, career life and relationship life.
Things just feel different and amplified when you become a mother.
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Robert Glasper releases “December” live session with Andra Day. The new “In December” holiday album is out now on all platforms. |
Five-time Grammy award-winning pianist and composer Robert Glasper shares a stunning live session of “December” featuring Andra Day from his acclaimed holiday album, In December—out now across all platforms.
It seems like the main reoccurring advice my therapist likes to stress at our sessions is creating healthy boundaries. If I think about it, creating these safe, assertive spaces as a way of self-preservation—mentally, physically and emotionally—served me well during some of the most stressful adult situations in my personal life.
By Missy E.
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| Hope is not far away for those who seek it. Every season has a purpose. (Photo by Nathan Cowley) |
If I'm a storyteller, if my gift is the written word, then I suppose here goes my reflection for Nov. 10's Sunday Soul Session on The M Report.
The Scripture parable about the woman and two coins was the main focus today. For a quick refresher, the people in the house of worship contributed money to the treasury, some offering large sums, but it was the offering of a woman in poverty who gave her only two coins, her everything to the treasury that stood out to Jesus where he pointed out her actions to His disciples. This written reflection is what I want to emphasize:
"Our Lord desires that we should know how badly we need Him, that we should perceive our profound poverty before Him. By giving her whole livelihood, this widow puts herself in a position that necessitates unmitigated trust in God's providence.
She is not afraid to be weak and small before God, and He delights in such childlike abandonment: our weakness attracts God because it offers Him an emptiness that He can fill ... no matter how deep the abyss of our misery, it cannot be an obstacle to God's action. Sanctity doesn't consist in this or that practice, but in a disposition of the heart which makes us little and humble in God's arms."
So the question begs to ask us, how is your heart, today? Does it need extra lovin', does it need a spark of joy, does it need healing? Does it need the freedom to speak something that's been hidden or abandoned?
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| Setting realistic expectations with New Years resolutions is a good start to achieve your goals. (Photo: Polina Kovaleva) |
Weeks into the new year can make one wonder, why did I even try a New Year's resolution? While the reasons to say farewell to these resolutions can vary from person to person, experts share how people can set realistic and effective resolutions to keep for the entire year.
"We always advise making resolutions easy and achievable and starting off by making small steps. Don't jump to the big things."
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| Vitamin D plays a large role in overall health according to medical experts. (Courtesy Pexels) |
Winter isn't coming, winter is here. With that comes the concern for what some suffer from called the winter blues or seasonal depression.
Medical experts at Baylor College of Medicine are sharing tips on how to maintain your vitamin D intake in the winter.
