Sometimes it’s not the times you decide to fight, but the times you decide to surrender—those are the decisions that can make all the difference. Those are the ones that can shape your story in history.
An awakened mind and heart will serve you well. Rigidity stalls upward progress. Be as expansive as you can. Even when you think you’ve reached your limit, there’s more to unlearn and relearn.
It’s okay to be messy. Like sunflowers, galaxies, and fingerprints, your life is an intricately designed spiral. Your wrinkles, bumps, and bruises show the world you are a force of nature. Forget linear. When you embrace chaos, it brings its own kind of order.
Stay woke. Jump out of bed, even if it makes you dizzy. Listen to your voice, even if it startles you. Breathe in the smelling salt, even if it stings you. Stare into the light of the reality before you, even if it burns. If you get weary, ask for help—whatever it takes to keep your eyes open. Bask in the glow of conscious living. You are awake. This is when change happens.
Stop searching for wizards and wands. Don’t buy into the belief that you don’t have the brains, heart, and courage to make it. Link arms with your fellow travelers and never let go. Hold each other up so that you can see your own magic.
Forgive yourself for the lives that will be lost, but do not forget them. A good leader always recognizes that sacrifices must be made in order to win, but remembering or forgetting those who sacrificed themselves for your cause is what separates the tyrants from the benevolent.
It shouldn’t matter what I say, but rather, how you feel—don’t listen to the words of people. Instead, listen to your heart. It doesn’t lie, and it is speaking just as loudly.
Being real is the power skill of the century, but we’re taught to be otherwise in the places that should hold it most sacred: our families, schools, workplaces, communities, houses of worship, and governments.