Now, we take a moment to breathe…

On the other side of the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes — we have felt joy and relief, gratitude and celebration.

With a deep knowing that this moment is not an end but a beginning, now, we take a moment to breathe.

We feel the weariness of the last four years in our hearts and in our bones, and for many of us, the weariness runs deeper — a lifetime, and many generations before us. Survival can leave us breathless.

And so today, we take a collective breath. For ourselves, and for so many in this moment who are still surviving.

For our Black and Indigenous kin who have been fighting white supremacy, settler colonialism, and capitalism for generations.

For those whose freedom has been taken by cages, borders, and other man-made constraints.

For those who’ve lost their homes, their livelihoods, and loved ones to COVID-19.

And for those who aren’t here with us today.

We breathe for those who cannot. As we always have.

We know — and our movements have told us — there is more work to do. But we can pause for a moment to take a breath.

We breathe to ground ourselves, and to reconnect to the ancestral wisdom that will carry us forward.

This breath is a reclamation. This is why #WeGovern together.