During the wedding ceremony there was a little smiling baby looking over his mom’s shoulder and it made me realize something. here we all were, gathered in this one place – families, couples, babies, kids – to celebrate a wedding. These rituals are so important to hold on to. We need to gather and celebrate love and babies and families and friends and joy. That’s part of what gives life meaning, part of what connects us together.

Things like mass shootings and hate will continue to happen, but we can’t just live in fear. We need to celebrate that good still exists. People still fall in love and get married and have babies and raise families and we need to celebrate those things. We need to celebrate love and happiness. It’s the only thing that will defeat the hate and fear.

After a day of celebrating love, the next day we gathered to say goodbye to my cousin who died by suicide. The memorial was held in a park that has played a huge role in all of our lives – street dances, fireworks, family reunions, playtime, and now a memorial. During the service music was playing, everyone was quiet, and all of the sudden there was the crack of a bat and people cheering from a baseball game on the diamond. I was reminded again of the importance of living and celebrating and rituals. In the midst of sadness, there was joy. In the midst of death, there was life.