Been a Minute

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. Life has a way of hitting pause for you, whether you’re ready or not.

A friend of mine lost his son in a crash not long ago. One of those tragedies that shatters time—before and after. Watching someone go through that kind of grief… it reaches out and grabs you by the collar. Makes you stop. Makes everything else feel small. And so I did stop, for a while. Not intentionally. Just drifted. Words got quieter. Focus faded. I think I defaulted to yelling into the void on Facebook more than anything else—maybe because ranting feels easier than sitting still with pain, even when it’s not your own.

Grief doesn’t just belong to the people closest to the tragedy. It echoes. It ricochets. It gets in your bones, especially if you’ve got any empathy left rattling around in you. And sometimes, it messes with your compass. You lose direction, even if you’re still standing.

But there’s a time for pause, and there’s a time to move again.

So this is me hitting “unpause.” Dusting off the blog. Shifting the energy back toward building, reflecting, connecting. I don’t want to be someone who only vents to the algorithm. I’d rather craft something with care, say something with substance, even if it’s only read by a handful of folks who get it.

To anyone out there carrying grief—your own or someone else’s—just know it’s okay to stop. It’s okay to not create for a while. But when you’re ready, the world still needs your voice.

Here’s to moving forward, one word at a time.

—Dan