SMOKY QUARTZ — STONE OF GROUNDING
Smoky Quartz — The Stone of Grounding. Smoky quartz is a remarkable crystal known for its grounding properties. It is believed to help cleanse negative energies while promoting emotional balance and stability. Often associated with calmness and protection, smoky quartz is highly valued in spiritual practices and personal well-being.
Smoky quartz sits heavy in our palms,
pulling us back to earth when the noise gets loud.
It drinks the negativity, it clears the fog,
it opens the road we're meant to walk now.
This is the energy we carry into the season—
grounded, balanced, ready to become.
The Cycles Just… Cycle
Captured in the fashion district by Mitchell Royel, where silk whispers against concrete and reflections dance in storefront glass. Now, the echo of "Little Girl Gone" by CHINCHILLA threads through the alleys, weaving rebellion into the morning haze. It hums in the folds of garments, swaying boldly on mannequins—becoming protest, becoming fire, becoming a hymn for the unapologetic. The city watches, but the music doesn’t falter, holding the rhythm of defiance in its palms like a secret it never intends to keep.
There are stretches out here—
vast, endless stretches—
where it feels like it's just us,
holding the whole thing up alone.
We grind. We hustle.
We show up to auditions
with tired faces and hopeful eyes.
We write pages nobody may ever read,
craving connection,
but only the right kind of connection—
nothing rushed, nothing forced.
Our crew? They scattered.
Some to success.
Some to new lives.
Some just… gone.
We used to wonder if they'd drift back into orbit,
the way they always did
when life climbed upward,
when the dragon fell,
when the cloud finally lifted.
But this time—
this time it feels different.
The split wasn't loud.
No fireworks, no fight—
just whispers,
just timing,
just vibes that stopped lining up.
Some of it was out of our hands.
Some of it, we chose.
The weight had to lift.
We had to breathe.
So now it's smoky quartz in our pockets,
a playlist keeping our heads nodding
as we ride the A train to yoga.
It carries us through coffee shop sessions
where we sit solo—
not lonely, clear.
We prefer it that way now.
Strangers become friends when the timing's true.
Here's to meditating when the mind won't quiet.
Here's to sitting still
when the whole world screams run.
Here's to feeling the beat of our roots—
hip hop, indie rock,
whatever keeps the pulse moving.
Here's to pouring everything into the art,
listening for the unfamiliar echo,
and stepping into the newest versions of ourselves.
It just is what it is.
And hear this, plain and steady:
The ones who vanish through the hard part,
the ones who wait in the wings
until the dragon lies slain—
they come back looking for the after.
They come back for the calm they never bled for.
But the after belongs to us now.
This chapter was written in the dark,
in the grind, in the solo hours,
in the smoke and the stone and the breath.
So let this be the release,
gentle but unshaken:
those who return once the war is won
are not walking in with us.
Not this time.
We grounded ourselves.
We built this new room.
And we're keeping the door
for the ones who stayed—
and for the ones still to come.
Not for the ghosts
who only love the light
after we survived the night.
We move on.
We rise clear.
We go alone until the right ones arrive.
And it just is what it is.
Mitchell, Ryder, GG Collective