heArtless And Cruel, COMPAssiOnAte And MerCiful

Joy Goss

Not everything has to stay the same in your life. It’s okay to let people go. We all grow and change in ways that make us different. You’ll lose friends and make new ones, and that’s perfectly fine. Some people belong in your life while others don’t.

Something I learned in life is yes, you get treated the way you treat others, but what’s also true is that people will treat you the way you treat yourself. Respect yourself. Learn who you are and what you want. Then, go after it. But this process of learning yourself doesn’t have to be rushed.

Another lesson I hope to never forget is that someone else’s beauty is never the absence of your own. Beauty comes in a million different forms. I love certain aspects of myself and another girl loves something else about herself. Every morning you may see an ombre sunrise and notice how beautiful it is. Later, you might see the prettiest fall leaf on the ground or visit the ocean and see splashing waves, and appreciate how beautiful that is too. But you never compare the two beauties you came across. So why compare yourself to others? One person’s beauty is never the absence of your own.

No one really knows each other. We all struggle sometimes. We all feel sadness, fear, joy, and shame. We all cry and rejoice. We all feel hurt and heartbreak. The point is that we never know what someone is going through, so why go out of your way to make someone feel worse? Why say something hurtful to someone who’s been through enough? I finally understand what “think before you speak” means. It doesn’t stop you from saying something dumb, rather something hurtful or painful.

It’s okay to figure out who you are. But do so without hurting people along the way. Don’t be heartless or cruel. Always be compassionate and merciful.