These are the gathering places. If there is anything I have learned at all, it is that fear can isolate us in ways far-reaching. Those sharp words we utter. Those feelings of doubt and shame. Loneliness. The times we sit in the car and cry those big tears, overtaken. They all seem rooted in fear of one shade or the other. And the path to relief and joy is not to deny those fears, bury them, hide from them or run from them. The way to healing is acknowledging the pain. If there is even one person who bears witness to your sorrow, that pain is lessened. And you can breathe again. Just by gathering.