Motive is the Message

Lately, I’ve been thinking about motive. About why we do what we do. About how integrity shows up when no one’s watching.

Last night, I sat across from my partner, talking about how to model better behavior. How to live in a way that actually helps the Earth, helps each other. The conversation turned, like it often does, to risk. To caution. To what might happen if we step too far out of line. The more reserved she became, the more I felt pulled toward the fire. I wanted to say it louder. To stand taller. To refuse silence.

I remember 2016 like it cracked something open in me. There was this moment of clarity. I saw people beginning to normalize cruelty. To turn a blind eye to basic human rights. And I made a choice. There is no middle ground on justice. You can’t be a little bit racist. You can’t halfway support equity. You either treat people with dignity, or you don’t. I remember saying: there is no “purple” when it comes to basic decency. There is only the right thing, or the wrong one.

That’s when motive clicked. I didn’t want to act out of spite. I didn’t want to shout into the void and pretend it counted as change. I wanted to live in a way that modeled what I believed. That kindness matters. That equity matters. That helping others isn’t just a value, it’s a daily act.

And here’s what I believe now: goodness is simple. It means helping others, helping the Earth, and helping yourself. Because in the end, those aren’t separate things. We are the world. You are. I am. All of us.

If we treat the world the way we’d treat ourselves at our best, we’ll build something better. Not out of guilt. Not out of fear. But because it’s who we choose to be.

The motive is the message.