Cruelty is easy, cheap and rampant.

When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. This is why we sometimes attack who they are, which is far more hurtful than addressing a behavior or a choice.

Until we can receive with an open heart, we are never really giving with an open heart.

If you own this story you get to write the ending.

It doesn't matter if the group is a church or a gang or a sewing circle or masculinity itself, asking members to dislike, disown, or distance themselves from another group of people as a condition of 'belonging' is always about control and power. I think we have to question the intentions of any group that insists on disdain toward other people as a membership requirement. It may be disguised as belonging, but real belonging doesn't necessitate disdain.

Perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it’s often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life-paralysis.