We humans generally suck.
We lie. We cheat. We steal. We are selfish, greedy, and mostly self-absorbed.
So, if you are one of those rare people who continues to choose goodness, I want to offer you some encouragement.
You may give the rest of us your time, your talents, and sometimes your whole soul, only to find us ungrateful. We will take everything you have to offer and then blame you for our own failures. That is often the way we operate, and you are left wondering why you bothered being so kind.
If you have been lied to, cheated, betrayed, or otherwise disappointed by one of us humans, please keep your chin up. Do not give up on us.
People like you are among the few things separating humanity from complete moral collapse. The fact that you remain—ever vigilant, still hopeful, and somehow still merciful—gives the rest of us a glimpse of what we might become if we could stop being so selfish and conceited.
Even when you are kicked around or betrayed, you choose not to seek revenge. You turn the other cheek. You show mercy. When someone wrongs you, you are willing to forgive them and continue to recognize their humanity, even when they have failed to recognize yours.
That does not mean you must forget what happened. It does not mean you should tolerate abuse, surrender your boundaries, or continue giving people access to hurt you. Goodness is not weakness, and mercy is not naïveté.
You answer to a higher calling, and for that, I thank you.
People like you inspire me to become a better version of myself. I know it must be hard. It must be discouraging. At times, you probably feel invisible, exhausted, and nearly hopeless.
However, I have noticed—and I am not the only one.
Most of us greedy souls will never admit it to your face because doing so would require us to acknowledge our own weakness. But we see you. We really do.
You are noticed, admired, respected, and sometimes even loved—from a safe distance, of course.
You may be the kind of person who hears the greatest accolades only when people gather for your funeral. I am sorry for that. You deserve to hear some of them now.
So I am writing this anonymous message to any good soul who might stumble across it, read it, or hear it:
Do not give up.
Keep being who you are.
There are far too few people like you, and the rest of us desperately need you.
You are a light against the dull gray of humanity. You remind us that we are not beyond redemption.
