I need you to be secure, and be confident. For there are few things sadder, that I have seen, than people who were emotionally or physically abused.

This might be a little uncomfortable but it must be said.

I have had the fortune of being able to meet people everywhere, all over the world, and hear gorgeous stories of deep emotion. People open up to me and tell me their heart.

There is one constant that breaks my heart more than anything. And it is the extremely high rate of times when I meet people (as adults) who were abused earlier in life. Some of them physically - most of them emotionally - but make no mistake, they are both every bit as destructive.

If you abuse people, physically or emotionally, you are destroying the good in this world. You are destroying people’s beliefs in humanity and the love around them. You are destroying what is actual and forcing a belief in the victim that the world is a bad place and people do not have their best intentions in mind.

Maybe you did this when you were young. Maybe you did this in a relationship. Maybe you did this at a certain point of weakness. We all make mistakes - I am far from perfect and have surely said things I wish I could have taken back when the emotion subsided.

But do not let that pride keep you from apologizing.

Do not let that pride hold you back from telling that person that you were wrong.

Please do not let that pride keep you from telling that person that it wasn’t about them, for why you hurt them.

They might still hold it against you. They might not forgive you. But, through that apology, they just might start to slowly forgive themselves. To see that it wasn’t their fault. And to slowly start giving themselves a chance at happiness or joy again. As slowly starting to trust people again.

If you abuse, make no mistake: You are destroying that person for life, in a way that is rarely overcome. That destruction leads to many people hurting themselves. Treating themselves poorly. And believing that that is what they deserve. That destroys the very fabric of our society. The heartbeat of a population with a desire to love others, and trust freely. When people lose that, they do terrible things to themselves and others, perpetually. It effects the relationships they get into. It effects how they raise their children. I can’t tell you how many times I have met a mom who told me she was abused and then meeting the daughter and seeing the daughter following the exact same footsteps. You are destroying people’s ability to even see whats normal.

So, if you’re reading this, again, it’s okay to be insecure. But please take the time individually, to fight your own demons on your own, before ever taking them out on anyone else. It’s okay to be insecure, but it’s not okay to let that insecurity create fear and abuse in the people around you. It’s not fair to them. It’s not fair to anyone.

And it destroys the world, one person at a time.

A healthy heart is a heart full of love, always.