"Somebody once told me we will never feel loved until we have no pretenses, until we are fully able to be ourselves and until then, we can only feel love in percentages. When I heard that I knew it was true. I'd spent a good bit of my life acting and getting people to clap for me but none of the applause did anything except make me want more applause. I didn't act in a theater or anything, I'm talking about real life. To be honest the thought of not acting pressed on me like a terror. Who trusts people to love who they really are? Who is willing to take the risk? Nobody steps onto a stage and gets a standing ovation for being human. You have to sing or dance or something.
But here's another thing I heard and its giving me hope. If you want to be loved, be yourself with people who are kind and trustworthy. So that's the new world I'm trying to live in. I act less than before and get a little less applause but feel slightly more loved. It's like slowly breaking a habit. It's starting to feel good.
Applause is a quick fix. Love is an acquired taste.
Here's to changing the percentages."
-Donald Miller