“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the hits song from Encanto, is as revealing as it is catchy.

In the animated film, everyone contributes to the shunning of Bruno, whose prophecies lead to fear and frustration.

The tragedy is obvious.

The family’s fear of the future leads them to fear the one telling them about it. It is irrational and cruel.

And it is also ineffective. Not talking about something doesn’t make it go away. We know this, but we still do this.

Our fear comes in all kinds of avoidance. Sometimes that means we don’t talk about a problem to keep the family together. And sometimes, we think we are talking. Because we’re arguing over the thing we’re using to avoid a deeper conversation.

So often we do talk about something personal. But not the thing. Just the thing we’re using to avoid talking about the thing. Like complaining about changing team names when when what we’re feeling is loss and estrangement from our past.

The question is not whether our fears are justified. It is whether we’re willing to face them. And to do so with generosity, compassion, and faith.