April 20th, 2021
This morning I was cleaning out my phone (it feels five pounds lighter without all those Baby Yoda memes [remember Baby Yoda memes?!]) when I came across something that I obviously saved for a reason. It reads:
“If you’re ever scared that you’re a bad person, remember that bad people don’t care about being better.”
This is an important thing to remember that my brain is very good at making me forget.
Instead of making excuses for anything bad I have done, I choose to explore the reasons. I don’t know all of the reasons, and discovering them is a painful (and sometimes shameful) process.
I know now that many of the boys and men I grew up watching and emulating were not good examples of human beings. I did not always know that (and again, that’s not an excuse) and I think there comes a point when we have to accept that how we grew up cannot be the sole reason for the way we think and behave.
I say this as an introduction to a grander idea: I think, right now, it’s pretty easy to look around ourselves to see who is trying to be better.
And I truly believe that is what makes them good people.
For all the people who are clinging to their pasts, to our country’s past, to humanity’s past, to outdated religious and moral codes, there are so many others who are listening and changing and want you know there is room in their hearts for you, no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done (at the acknowledged risk of sounding like a Backstreet Boys song).
Bad people don’t care about being better.
Better people can grow out of being bad.
The Den 