The Yak symbolises a herd-oriented animal that suffers through long winters, icy storms, and vast distances. They are icons of endurance, long-suffering, and family.

Over the course of my life, I have lost significant amounts of family, both through distance and through death. I have been required to muster endurance to traverse long seasons of suffering, and my journey has often sent me wandering in search of a herd. I have also experienced the beauty and abundance life has to offer gaining family, finding a herd, and discovering treasures on the other side of hardship.

We have all experienced the depths of winter and the beauty of spring. Pain, loss, and heartache are not distant moments in our stories but close enough to touch and feel. The same is true of joy, awe, and family.

In a strange way, we are all Yaks. We are creatures with a desire for family, a courage to endure the icy winters that come our way, and a bravery to explore the expanse of wonders available to us if we dare to look.

With love,
Jonah