Close Up

Sometimes the most routine and common things seem very different when close up. In this first picture, what was your first guess (before you looked at the 2nd photo for the answer)? Maybe a poorly plastered wall? Something goopy? Were you surprised at all that it was an egg? I was at first. Handling eggs since I was a child, I believed what I felt and what I saw in photos and illustrations - that the shell was smooth. How different when close up! 

Here's another. I'll post a photo of this common item tomorrow, so we'll have no cheating! <smile>

You'll find soon, if you haven't already, that for nearly every discovery, every photo, every event, my mind derives some kind of story or application for life. (Strange, I know, but that's the way my unique mind works.) If you like the stories, great. If you don't, maybe you need to find another blog, though we'll miss you if you go.

I almost hesitate to share this simple application because I feel that everyone at some point has heard it. On the off-chance you haven't, consider your life an egg. (No, I'm not about to tell you you're rough and bumpy. that would be rude.) We live our lives in a shell. We show the world around us what is safe, acceptable, and "normal", whatever the heck that means. We imagine that if people saw the REAL, inside us we'd risk rejection. We don't like rejection. We want to be liked, appreciated, to belong, and yes, to be loved. We think we are protecting ourselves, but even when we receive positive interactions we know others like our outsides. We still fear the rejection that might happen if our shell cracked.

So what? What if we cracked open and all our goopy insides fall out? Guess what? All the other goopy people will say, "Whew! I thought that I was the only goopy one. What a relief to find a companion I can confide in." Eggs can be messy when broken. Eggs can be plopped in a hot pan, scrambled, or whisked together with non-egg things and popped into the oven. They call it "cake".

I firmly believe our lives are meant to be broken. That's how we change the world. We are here to give to others, to help others in this journey. Not to be used or abused, but given freely in a positive manner. Alone in your shell you will stay in your carton until you rot and are tossed out. 

I'm a slow learner... or just have to take baby steps. I "know" this information and think I follow it, but then see there's another shell inside the first one. That must be cracked open, too. We will never reach perfection in this life, but we can allow ourselves to be broken and re-broken, becoming more and more real, in service to those in need.

Now, on to that next close up that you can ponder overnight. Post your guesses in the comments. Please be as specific as possible. Don't forget to take the poll. I moved it to the right column so you can now actually read it! 

No day without discovery