If I could erase one trend from history, it would be the belief that people have to earn love.

So much of the pain I’ve seen and experienced, seems to grow from that one idea.

We tell people they have to perform well enough, believe correctly enough, look the part, fit in, or become someone else before they’re worthy of acceptance. We build systems that reward appearances while quietly overlooking the heart.

I’d rather live in a world where compassion comes before judgment, where people can ask hard questions without fear, where grace isn’t something you have to qualify for.

I don’t think we’d erase all suffering by changing that one trend. But I do think we’d erase a lot of loneliness.

The people who changed my life weren’t the ones who demanded perfection from me. They were the ones who loved me while I was still figuring things out.

That’s the trend I wish history had never started.

Published by Jeff

View all posts by Jeff