API Chaya staff and board collarborated with artist Tani Ikeda to create a Survivor Love Letter for ourselves and our communities. On this day and every day, know that we are here with love and support.
Dear survivor,
You have survived so far to get to where you are now. Even if the world around us feels chaotic and hard, you create space to be in the comfort of your own presence. You can make a world of yourself, when no one else understands, when words bring no comfort.
Your grief and loss will live alongside you, and will mostly lay in a quiet place, undisturbed. There will be times when it will rise like an ocean, swallowing you without warning. Without doubt, it will shape you to hold fast and dearly to all that you find precious. Cry when you need to. No one can offer their best all of the time, especially these days. However you are in this moment is enough. It’s okay if all you did today was survive.
And when you see the moon, take comfort knowing she sees you. From the very beginning, she has been witness to your pain, and your victories, big and small. She understands that in order to shine, we must find solace in our shadow..
Keep writing, keep doodling, keep shit talking, keep going. It is a brilliant and fruitful thing to do. You are so, so good, even on the worst days. It takes a lot of energy to fight everyday, but remember — each day you’re here is a victory. We will always be here to cheer you on.
Thank you for the rigor that is required for showing up for you. Thank you for the thousand and two tries. Thank you for striving for something else. Thank you for dreaming of something else.
Even when it feels like there’s no one and nothing else, remember that the sun’s rays will keep returning to you, the rain drops will always come back to visit, the air will keep journeying through and with you, and the soil will keep holding you up. Even if you don’t know it, there’s a ladybug or a honeybee or some other piece of the world out there that once saw you in passing and thought you were glorious. Just like the universe moves you, your breath moves the universe.
With all our love,
API Chaya
