What if we embraced the ability to offer grace,

To look at our own faces and see the maps that lead to hope

Instead of the scars around our throats

Closing them off like a void, depriving the world of our voice?

What if we could learn to release the glory inside itching to be free

Not for recognition’s sake, but because it’s our identity?

Freedom means cutting the ties to perfectionism,

Severing the lines to the demands of our minds,

Recovering our hearts and hearing our stories,

Placing hands over our own chests so we can understand the beats of those around us

What if we sang instead of holding it in,

What if we danced instead of restricting our limbs?

What if we treasured moments in sacred vaults,

Unlocking them in the times when we need to remember and, sometimes, offering the key to others?

What if we stopped letting fear guide our paths

And took risks that stood against bad experiences and the burdens of our pasts?

What if we stopped allowing the future to stop us

And employed our imaginations in selfless and courageous acts?

What if we told our dreams to each other, let our secrets fly with the birds?

Would we find that we’re not alone,

Would we learn to love more deeply, more truly

And judge a little less?

What if we could accept the dents in our palms and the marks on our faces

As broken mosaics that the light can shine through?

What if we stopped labeling our actions and judging our mistakes, but instead just moved on,

Forgiving our own inadequacies and accepting our need for grace?

What if we acknowledged our weakness but embraced our glory?

Would the world be a better place?