sometimes i wonder why i am kind to people who don’t deserve it? until i remember what it means to be human, what it feels like to be human. i cannot – and will not – hurt people just because i can.

You can’t find intimacy—you can’t find home—when you’re always hiding behind masks. Intimacy requires a certain level of vulnerability. It requires a certain level of you exposing your fragmented, contradictory self to someone else. You running the risk of having your core self rejected and hurt and misunderstood.

There is beauty in listening, beauty and power. When we take the time to lay down our own agenda and listen to others, we see the wounds and sorrows of others. We begin to notice a world outside of our own, one that needs empathetic and loving people. Too often we demand that our voices be heard, but in the end, people just want to be known. Being known by someone has tremendous repercussions that can heal and rebuild a broken life, it says to them “I’m here and I see you truly.” Being known means someone else KNOWS us, not only do they realize we exist, they realize we matter. Take the time to listen, to know those around you. It’s a gift that few in this life want to give, but one that everyone desires deeply. When we know one another, we do not fight, we protect and take care of one another. That’s a lovely and wonderful thing that we should all strive to do daily.

We cannot pray in love and live in hate and still think we are worshipping God.