“Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all."

I'm thinking of this quote this morning, after spending a lovely evening with some dear friends. One is dealing with a recent, painful loss of love -- and feeling a lot of shame and grief.

Eyes spilling over with tears, she wondered out loud, "What is wrong with me? How could I make this mistake?"

And my response was... "Nothing! You did the wonderful amazing work of opening your heart to love and joy and possibility. It's not your fault that the other person isn't open to receiving that love in the same way."

In the work that I do every day, I encourage clients to write their fundraising materials with openness, vulnerability and authenticity. I encourage the use of emotions and feelings.

And, sometimes, that's not appreciated. Not by the client, or not by the donors who read the materials.

Or, some messages aren't received in the spirit in which they were intended.

Not everyone is open to feeling their feelings! Not everyone is going to appreciate every single thing that you write. People get triggered all the time when they read fundraising letters or emails, when they watch a commercial or TikTok video or see an emotional billboard.

And yet, those messages work. They connect with the people they need to connect with in that moment in time.

Charitable organizations often get complaints from donors who don't like the way they feel when they read a direct mail letter or an emotional email. And yet those messages do connect with many and help them raise many thousands of dollars.

Just because one or two people complain, doesn't mean you should stop sending out emotional appeals! It doesn't mean you should stop trying to connect to the people who are (or soon will be!) passionate about your cause.

And, just because my friend is recovering from a broken heart... doesn't mean she should close up and never try for love again. I truly believe that as humans, we are meant to connect with other humans, to be open and vulnerable and real! That's the only way we can truly live our best, most fulfilling lives.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Are you all for opening up your heart and risking rejection - and to being real and vulnerable in your communications - or do you feel like you have a hard time with this?