Last week, the world lost the beloved Dolly Parton. I have always admired her. Not just for her amazing voice or her disarming, perfectly timed wit, but primarily because she figured something out that most of us spend a lifetime chasing: how to love people, all people, without conditions or exceptions. Her team said it plainly: “Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact.”
The Foundation for a Better Life has a #PassItOn campaign billboard featuring Dolly with a simple prompt: “Find the good in everybody.” What if we took that seriously? Not as a bumper sticker sentiment, but as a way of actually moving through the world? What if, in her honor, we tried?
Here is what her remarkable life teaches us about loving one another well:
- You can be confident without being cruel. Dolly held her head high and simultaneously encouraged others to do the same. She knew her own worth, while honoring the worth of others. That combination is the foundation of every healthy relationship.
- Unconditional love is a verb. Her family asked that donations be made to her Imagination Library, the program she built to put books in children’s hands with no strings attached. In our own lives, love looks like showing up consistently and believing in someone’s potential before they can see it themselves.
- A unifying spirit is a radical act. In an era of noise and division, Dolly made a deliberate choice to belong to everyone. She used her platform to remind us of what we share, and we can do the same, one relationship at a time.
Though Dolly is gone, her invitation to love one another remains. So, find the good in everybody. Not some people. Not the people who are easy to love. Everybody. What a world that would be. What a tribute that would make.
Farewell, Dolly.