As a counselor and art therapist, I get to witness something profound every single day: the resilience and beauty of the human spirit. I see people show up in their pain, in their longing, in their hope—and through creative expression and honest connection, I see healing begin. Slowly. Tenderly. Authentically.
And I’m reminded, over and over again, of one simple truth: people are good.
It’s not always the loudest truth. In fact, these days it feels like it’s being drowned out by something much louder—something darker.
The Machinery of Division
In recent years, we’ve seen a rising tide of fear, anger, and polarization. Social media has become a battleground. News cycles are saturated with conflict. Conversations online, and often even in real life, feel more like debates than dialogues.
This isn’t happening by accident.
Many of the platforms we use every day—those same spaces that promise connection and community—are actually designed to do the opposite. Their algorithms are engineered to keep us scrolling, engaging, reacting. And what keeps us most reactive? Fear. Outrage. Division. The more emotionally triggered we are, the more time we spend on their platforms—and the more money they make.
It’s a cycle that serves profit, not people.
The sad truth is that hate is a very efficient business model. And while we may not choose to participate consciously, when we don’t bring awareness to how we’re consuming media, we can easily be swept up in the currents of judgment, cynicism, and disconnection.
But here's where the shift begins: we get to choose another way.
Peace Is a Radical Act
In a world that profits off our disconnection, choosing peace is not passive—it’s revolutionary.
It takes courage to stay open-hearted in the face of pain. It takes strength to be kind when the world tells you to be cold. It takes deep inner work to hold space for complexity, to resist the urge to otherize, to keep seeing the good in people when it would be easier to retreat into cynicism.
But this is where healing lives.
When you choose to seek beauty—whether it’s in nature, in art, in a stranger’s smile—you are reminding your nervous system that the world is not only dangerous. When you choose joy, even briefly, you’re resisting a system that tells you you’re only worthy if you’re productive or performative. And when you choose to see the good in someone else, even in small ways, you are directly countering the narrative that says we’re all enemies, that we should be suspicious, divided, and guarded.
Peace and love might not feel like activism—but they are. Deeply. Subtly. Powerfully.
What We Focus On Grows
In therapy, one of the foundational principles I often return to is this: what we focus on, we reinforce.
When we focus on our flaws, we feel more broken. When we focus on danger, we live in fear. When we focus on division, we disconnect. But when we intentionally look for what is still good—within us and around us—we begin to rebuild trust. We start to feel safe again. We remember that healing is possible.
I’m not saying to deny the hard stuff. The pain is real. The suffering is real. The injustice is real. But so is the beauty. So is the kindness. So is the resilience.
We are complex beings, and the world is a complex place. There’s room to hold it all.
A Personal Invitation
So here’s my invitation to you: today, slow down enough to notice something beautiful. It could be a tree blossoming outside your window. A moment of laughter. A piece of art that moves you. A kind gesture—offered or received.
Let yourself feel joy without guilt. Let yourself hope without apology. Let yourself love without needing to justify it.
And then extend that energy outward. Look at the people around you—your partner, your neighbor, your coworker, the stranger in the grocery store—and challenge yourself to assume the best. To be generous in your perception. To meet others not with suspicion, but with curiosity and care.
Because when we do that—when we choose to love in the face of fear—we begin to change the story. Not just our own, but the collective one we’re all living in.
We Belong to Each Other
At the heart of it all, this is what I believe: we belong to each other. We’re not meant to fight and tear each other down. We’re meant to co-create, to support, to grow and grieve and thrive together.
We don’t need more opinions. We need more compassion. We don’t need more shouting. We need more listening. We don’t need more separation. We need more reminders that we are all—every single one of us—worthy of love.
So let’s be that reminder. Let’s be the presence that says: Yes, the world is hurting—but we can still choose to be kind. We can still choose to see the good. We can still choose to heal.
And that choice? It matters more than you know.