By Becky Holland
Dolly Parton was never just one thing.
She was country and glamorous. Deeply rooted in faith and still remarkably accepting of people who did not look, live or believe exactly as she did. She could laugh at herself, build a business empire, write songs that broke your heart and then turn around and make you laugh five minutes later.
She was traditional in some ways and surprisingly modern in others.
Maybe that is part of why so many people loved her.
She did not fit neatly into a box.
And maybe neither do the rest of us.
We live in a time when people are quick to sort one another. We hear one opinion, notice one political belief, one church affiliation, one lifestyle choice, one mistake, one label, and suddenly we think we know the whole person.
But people are rarely that simple.
Dolly seemed to understand that.
She could hold strong convictions and still make room for people who were different from her. She could be unmistakably herself without demanding that everyone else become a copy of her.
There is something worth thinking about in that.
How often do we decide who someone is before we really know them?
How often do we let one belief, one decision or one part of a person become the entire definition of who they are?
And maybe just as important, how often do we do that to ourselves?
Maybe we begin to believe we have to be one thing.
Strong or soft.
Traditional or progressive.
Faithful or questioning.
Successful or struggling.
Independent or in need of help.
But human beings are more complicated than that.
We can be strong and tired.
We can have faith and still have questions.
We can be independent and still need other people.
We can hold convictions and still show compassion.
We can change our minds without losing ourselves.
We can be a work in progress and still be worthy of respect.
Maybe one of Dolly Parton’s greatest gifts was that she gave people permission to be more than one thing.
She seemed comfortable being complicated.
Maybe that is something the rest of us could learn from.
We do not have to fit into someone else’s box.
And maybe we should stop trying to force other people into one, too.
We are all made up of stories, experiences, beliefs, contradictions, mistakes, growth, grief, joy and hope.
That is what makes us human.
And maybe the world would be a little kinder if we remembered that about each other.
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