In the moment, when the world feels
unrecognizable,
We stand in the space between what
was and what will be.
We name our loss:
For the homes where we grew,
For the laughter that filled the walls,
For the ordinary moments now swept
away—
We grieve.
For the memories etched in ash,
For the roads that feel foreign,
For the lives forever changed,
We weep.
And yet, even here, in the wreckage,
We reach for something unbroken.
To the unseen, the eternal,
the whisper of hope—
Meet us in this silence.
Help us find footing on this shifting
ground.
Be the breath in lungs that feel too heavy
to expand, the steady presence in a sea of
uncertainty.
Teach us that what truly matters—
love, connection, resilience—
Was never confined to walls or things.
Show us how to carry forward the invisible:
The bonds that no fire can consume.
And as the nights stretch long,
When despair threatens to take root,
Remind us:
We are still here.
The light within us flickers
but does not fade.
Help us to rise—
not just from the ashes,
But into something new.
Stronger.
Closer.
Unbreakable.
Dr. Zelana Montminy is a behavioral scientist, author of 21 Days to Resilience & Finding Focus (2025), keynote speaker and longtime resident of the Pacific Palisades. For more information, visit drzelana.com or follow her on Instagram at @dr.zelena
Bob Bronstein lives in Rustic Canyon and is designer and principal of AOY Design. His practice focuses on single family and multi-unit residential projects in and outside California. aoydesign.net