What If We Started With Compassion? Connection doesn’t begin with control. It begins with empathy. The work of connection is acceptance of the human experience, including our own.

For months I’ve been holding myself in this tension, between empathy and the fear of failing them. And then one morning, wisdom whispered something beautiful. She reminded me that my purpose is not to create perfect versions of myself. My purpose is far more poetic, meaningful, and tangible than perfection. Thank goodness...

For most of my life, I believed that change required pushing harder, being different, being “fixed.” I thought something inside me, or in others, needed correction in order to feel whole or connected. That relentless striving left me exhausted, frustrated, and stuck in cycles of shame and judgment.