Why do we know better and not always do better?

Because life is complicated. Because our attachments to people, patterns and situations can be deeply ingrained and hard to shift. Because it is always easier to sit on the outside and talk about how we would handle things, then to be the one doing the handling. Because mistakes and failure and experiential learning are part of what it is to be human.

Pick your Because– not to justify and excuse away, but to give yourself an amount of grace in the situation. Because being human is a tricky business. Because sometimes it doesn’t look the way we played it in our head. Because the language of the mind and the language of the heart can differ.

Because shame is not the basis for positive change. Compassion is. Forgiveness is. Kindness is. A change of heart is. And that starts inside with our relationship with ourselves. .

The road may be jagged and complex and look very different than we imagined, but each of us, in our own way is striving for better, for wellness, for love– and we will get there when we get there. In the meantime there is always the grace of this moment to be had.