Now is the time for tenderness

Now is the time for tenderness, and by tenderness I mean that the world is so harsh that we must do what we can to combat it, in any way we can think of. It doesn’t have to be elaborate: there is camaraderie in compliments and solace in solidarity. Just this morning I was late in taking the garbage to the curb—I ran outside just as the truck was pulling away, and when he saw me frazzled in my pajamas the driver threw on his brakes and bounded up the driveway to help. A ten second interaction left a glow for the rest of the day.

And here is tenderness magnified: across the globe, there are reports of mothers gathering strangers’ children under their wings, soaring to safety again and again, and men who were formerly the enemy given hot tea and a phone call to their families upon surrendering. These are the acts that can stop a tank in its tracks.