What brings me comfort right now.

Remembering moments like this one from May of last year. Amandla and I stopped outside of her fabulous loft apartment in Paris' 11th arrondissement to drink in the evening. I arrived from L.A. for a week, having been charged with ferrying Kumo the cat across the Atlantic. One year later I've just finished watching the result of Amandla's six-month rendezvous with Paris—the eight-part Netflix series, The Eddy. It’s a soul-stirring, cinematic marvel, and a poignant deep-dive into the lives of some riveting characters, including troubled Julie, played by Amandla. She is "scintillating" in the role, possesses an "arresting presence," and delivers a "scene-stealing performance," reviewers say. Plus there's this appreciation by Amy Taupin in Artforum and this gorgeous Emmy magazine cover. I may just have to stream it again.

Good books. I found the Proust in the free library on my walk this morning. 

Yo-Yo Ma. His playing reveals humanity. His presence makes me smile and soothes my soul. His Songs of Comfort, especially Dvorák's New World Symphony, give me life.

Streaming Agape’s Sunday services, daily 8 a.m. prayers and noon meditations.

Watching Sarah Cooper lip sync. She’s a genius.

FaceTiming with Amandla. Yesterday she was hunched over a table drawing while we conversed for well over an hour. It reminded me of the long ago summer I held a creativity camp just for her every day and we painted and knitted. Creating is so very important right now. As Toni Morrison said so eloquently, “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear... Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge—even wisdom.”

Pausing to take deep breaths.

Thinking on all the wonderful women I know name Karen. The name sure is getting a bad wrap as of late.

Being grateful. When I take the time to recount what I’m grateful for, I see so much good I am inspired to move forward. 

The endless text thread with the three siblings. We exchange news, memories and funny memes. Like these.

Expand photo and reach book title!

Care packages from my sister, Charlayne. Hand sanitizer. Masks. Skinny Pop. Pistachios.

Writing this list.

The phrase, “This, too, shall pass.”

The phrase, “Peace, be still.”