October 7, 2025- Exposing our flaws

Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.

~Confucius

In order to be flawless, we must take no risks. We must find a comfort zone and sit complacently within it. We must refuse to experience anything novel, we must resist growth, and we must hope that the world around us doesn’t evolve.

That last part presents a particular problem.

If two trees are planted next to one another and one is willing to change, but the other isn’t, the one that doesn’t grow will die. The one that grows will get all the sunlight, all the water, and all the nutrients. By not growing, the stubborn tree starves itself.

If we refuse to grow, we will starve ourselves of life. Growth requires risks. Risks require mistakes. Mistakes expose our flaws. But without exposing our flaws, we cannot address them, so our mistakes are essential in our evolution. We are human, and we are flawed. Let’s not pretend we are not. In exposing our flaws, we will also expose our beauty.

Whether we want to or not, the world around us will force change upon us. Let’s lean into that. Let’s risk enough to reap rewards. Let’s make some mistakes and learn from them. Let’s get a little bit better, one choice at a time.