Everybody, Always

The most important part of our ceremony wasn’t what I said or all the
medals. It was what I didn’t say. You see, I didn’t tell Charlie how far he
had to go. I said, “Charlie, look how far you’ve come.” People who are
becoming love celebrate how far the people around them have come.
They’re constantly asking the question, “Where do you want to go?” Then
they help the people around them get there.
Go do that with the people you love, including your enemies. Don’t
talk to them about their failures and the dark places they’ve been. Talk to
them about who they’re becoming and the bright hope that is their future.
Speak truthful and wise words over them. Bring a few medals too. As you
put the last one on their chest, look them in the eye and tell them, “Look
how far you’ve come.” Knowing that the journey you and I are on never
really ends, we can ask the people we love one of the most important
questions ever conceived.
“Where do you want to go?”