Take a moment to think of something beautiful to you. Not something morally correct or widely appreciated, but something you delight in. For me, this could be a friend’s smile at a party, or a steaming bowl of delicious stew, but I can’t say what brings you joy. Got it? Good. Make the world have more of that. You are good, your tastes and values are good, and the world should be shaped in your image. You are good, because you are the source of your values. Recognizing yourself as good is the basis for making the world better. Notice how you want the world to be, and fix things that are out of place. You don’t have to fix everything; indeed, you aren’t obligated to fix anything. It’s just that the more you improve the world, the better the world will be. And I reiterate, “better” means more in line with your own vision of a good world, not what anyone else says you ought to work towards.
You don’t need anyone’s approval. You may want others’ help in shaping the world, and there are various means to secure that, but you don’t need Not even me, I'm just reminding you in case you've forgotten. to tell you that you’re good. Other people or abstract societal forces may have tried to convince you that you’re bad, because you don’t align with how they want the world to be. Block out the haters. Their vision for the world is not your own, and your own taste must guide you. Take up space and impose your goodness on the world around you. It’s possible your vision will bump up against others’, and you can figure out how to conflict or compromise as needed, but don’t preemptively make yourself small for fear of offending.
Making the world more beautiful may take some hard work. So be it. Aversion to work is evolution’s answer to metabolic scarcity, but you aren’t starving, conserving energy while you wait to be rescued or die. Food is abundant in our world, so eat well and use that energy to work for what you care about. The muscle must strain, the mind must plan. Gather resources and tools, build up your power to make change. Rest when you need to, but rest is not the end goal. Entropy always increases, but to stop pushing it away is death. So long as you live, feel the fire roaring in your heart and keep shaping the world around you into the things you care about.
You are good, so love yourself and your vision. Go forth and make the world in your beautiful image.