No matter how wide you stretch your fingers your hands will always be too small to catch all the pain you want to heal.
—Sarah Kay

There are three things I know to be true. Three very important things.

ONE: I was created for a purpose

And so were you. Life is not meaningless. We are not evolved from star soup. Or monkeys. At least, I don't think so.

We are special and exceptional. Mighty and magical. We live in a universe full of mystery and meaning. And it was intended to be that way.

We are more than we realize, but still tragically flawed. So there is plenty of room for humility and failure. Plenty of space to learn and grow — to become.

And I hope we do — that we discover our innate dignity, our inherent glory. And somehow, miraculously, see it in others.

TWO: The world has not seen what great art can do

Not yet. I believe words matter and imagination illuminates. That beauty can heal a shattered soul.

We need more life and love in this world. And less lies and lawyers. No offense to lawyers; I just want to see more paintings and books and less arguments and angry people.

The world needs more art — to be refreshed and rejuvenated. We need this more than we comprehend. We need more poetry and less prose, more art and less advertising.

We need life. We need friends. We need sunsets and spaceships, long walks and late nights. We need to sleep in and day-dream, to eat pancakes for supper.

We need to find that child-like part of ourselves we lost so long ago.

When we do, there will be no end to what we can accomplish. With God's help, we will become what we were meant to be, to live the lives we long for.

THREE: We are all broken

But that doesn't excuse inaction. Everyone has pain. Everybody hurts. I'm not quite sure I will ever understand why.

And that's okay. But I still need to act. I still need to move — and be moved. I need to enter the stories of my neighbors and friends, even those of my enemies.

I need to embrace compassion and suffer with — to bear others' burdens and carry their loads. And so do you.

We cannot live for ourselves. This will not satisfy. It will leave us — and the world — feeling empty and hollow inside.

We were made for one another — not strip malls and sitcoms, but real and raw community. Beautifully broken relationships: this is what will heal us.

If we are willing. To be moved, to be touched. To engage the broken ball of bruised humanity we call ourselves. If we will do this, we will come alive and find our true selves. It will be beautiful and ugly — all at the same time.

These are three things I know to be true. They are only three. There are, of course, others. But these are enough for me. Enough to do something that matters today.

I hope I do.

What are your three things?

I just listened to this beautiful poem from Sarah Kay and immediately bought it on Amazon. Through the rest of the Ted Talk, Kay asks her audience, “What are three things that you know to be true?”

This post was inspired by that question.

I encourage you to write your own “three things” post. Heck, share it on Twitter with #threethings, so we can see what others are saying. Leave a comment here with a link. Post it on Facebook.

Because we all need to believe.

Here's the video of Sarah Kay's Ted Talk:

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What three things do you know to be true? Share in the comments.