Unless.

I got a tattoo today. I'd been thinking about it for over a year and finally turned thought into action. The idea was inspired by a Dr. Seuss book, The Lorax: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not."

Basically, unless we rise up and actually do something in the world, nothing is ever going to change.

People will keep being hungry, orphaned, enslaved, and broken unless we take action. Life's not going to get better unless you choose to find things to enjoy about it. This fleeting earth will keep wasting away unless we care about it.

There's just so much resting on the unless. It's the difference between things happening and remaining stagnant.

When I look down at my hand, I see a reminder to get off my butt. I see a plea against lethargy and a cry for action. I remember that my life is not for my own pleasure and nothing else; that I desire change in the world.

It's a challenge every day to live on the right side of the unless, but it's a challenge I extend to you.

Unless you try your hardest, you'll always wonder how much more you could have done.