I've been told I'm a deep feeler that cares too much.  Which is true I guess. I cry when I see roadkill.  I cry when my kids pick me a flower.  I even cry when I see an old barn that has collapsed, just thinking about all the work that went into it. 

(Don't ever ask me to watch animal movies with you: you won't be able to hear the dialog over the sobbing.) 

Anyway, my deep feelings got the better of me today. While sitting at a stoplight in my car on the way to work, I looked outside and felt despair and sadness.  Everything got to me.   Billboards for junk food. Litter. Yard signs for elected billionaires that don't give a damn about neglected communities. Elderly women trying to walk down sidewalks while snowplows throw chunks of ice at them. 

And me driving by, helpless, caring too much about it all. 

Or so it felt in the moment. 

After I settled down, I realized that--as powerless as it feels--caring is powerful.  Yes, caring means crying and anger and frustration and disappointment. But it also means change and compassion and potential and hope. We can't change everything, but we can change a little. 

And that's something. 

Reader, it's Martin Luther King day today, and I'm so inspired by how much that man cared.  If you too find yourself caring alone, please remember: you're not alone.  There are a lot of us out there.  You may feel lost in your emotions like I do.  I think sometimes we just need to acknowledge our emotions, normalize them, and then keep trucking on in the direction of the change we want to make. 

With that, this deep feeler is off to pick up some trash outside her restaurant.  It's something. I'll see you next Monday. -Em