shine ...

sometimes we are fortunate enough

to be given people

 who not only love us exactly as we are, 

but somehow have a way

of making us even more "us"

a way of bringing out even more

of who we truly are

and if you find yourself 

in this place,

you will recognize the beauty

in every season of your life,

the possibilities 

in every pocket of your soul,

the love

in every corner of your heart ...

give in

say

thank you

and

shine

with all that you are ...

♥

inner beauty. inner gooey. how i believe people are like cinnamon rolls ...

have you ever seen a fantastic looking cinnamon roll, heard it calling your name from the pastry case, watched it wink at you to lure you over, enticing you with every one of your senses, only to find out that after salivating in anticipation, you eat the cinnamon roll and half way through you discover it wasn't at all what it appeared to be?  you're disappointed ... you pick through it to find the goodness you were hoping for ... soon it is demolished on your plate because you never found it to be any better but checked every part just in case so you wouldn't miss the good spot if in fact there was one ...

a cinnamon roll can look absolutely delicious, but by the time you eat through the layers, you can reach the center only to find that it isn't the ultimate in sweet gooey perfection that you had been expecting, instead it might be dry or bland or uninteresting in any number of ways.  and there you find yourself ... you've experienced it ... but you aren't exactly happy with the experience.  you had saved the best for last ...  eating from the outside, going around the circular path, trusting that the best was yet to come.

this is what i think:  this is exactly the way people are.  and this is why i believe we should view people in the same way:  

and we should start from the center.

this is the only way you will know what the person/cinnamon roll is really made of.  this is where you find out if there is a goodness match, or not.  

you could start on the outside, because of how something/someone looks,  and waste all kinds of time, only to find out that the inside there doesn't match in beauty.  then what's the point?  why spend your energy and time basing thoughts and opinions and feelings on the outside, when really it's the inside that matters.  it's the inside that tells the story.

why spend your time and energy on someone solely because they look a certain way?  their insides might not be as pretty to you, which isn't to say that it might not be perfect for someone else ... you could have passed on by and left it, intact, for another person to enjoy ...

                                                  

                                                                                                               

if you enjoy a cinnamon roll straight from the center, just bypass the presentation and cut into it and dive right in, you will know right away if you are going to spend the next few minutes of your time savoring the rest of it.  i bet you.  

if you enjoy a person straight from their center, just bypass their outer shell and get into their energy and dive right in, you will know if you are going to spend the next (any number of moments) with them as a person.  

much like saying you can't judge a book by its cover, except that it's more of a challenge to dive right into the center of a book and know what's going on.  you can, however, dive into the center of a cinnamon roll and know if it tastes good.  you can, however, dive into the center of a human being and know if the energy feels right.

the cinnamon roll, or the person, who maybe doesn't look as you have come to expect, might surprise you and be absolutely amazing.  and you could miss out on that by making your selection based on the outside appearance.  and likewise, the most appetizing cinnamon roll, or person, might have insides that do not match the outer beauty, that do not live up to your expectations, that leave you misled by presentation.

you can never tell, by the outsides.  

start in the middle.

dive into the center.

it's the inside that tells the story...

the unconditional condition

is it necessary to label ourselves with a belief system, and in doing so immediately create boundaries that we - and others - are unwilling or unable to cross?  do you know anyone who does this, and consequently, considers anyone outside of this belief system to be "wrong?"  i do.  and i am not saying that i believe they are wrong for believing this way.  i believe they are living in the ways that feel right to them.  and i seek to understand their perspective and to feel from where they feel.  what i AM saying, is that this fascinates me.

recently i found myself in two separate experiences, each mirroring the other, yet each person unaware and on the outside totally and fundamentally opposing the other:

one person who is completely and proudly atheist, absolutely and without any reservation, was explaining to me the scope of parental love.  this person said, "there aren't many things that i know for sure in this world, beyond the shadow of any doubt.  because there can always be questions about anything.  but the one thing i do know, no matter what, with all my heart, is that no matter what happens, i will always love my children.  it doesn't matter what they do, say, feel, or think."   i asked, "even vote?" and believe it or not the answer was:  "even vote."  "... even if they ended up in jail for doing something horrible.  i would want to understand.  i might disagree … and i would still love them.  they are my children, and that is forever, and that love can never ever be broken.  that love always, always comes first."

not long after that, i was discussing God and judgment with a person who is completely and proudly christian.  and this person said, "i believe that God loves us without judgment, and loves us the way i love my children.  my children are going to do things that i do not agree with.  things i might not want them to do, might hope they don't do, might be mad at them for doing.  we are not always going to agree.  i might think, what the hell are they thinking??  but none of those things are going to make me love them any less, or stop loving them.  they are going to do what they think they should do and i have to let them.  i have to trust them.  they are going to mess up; we all do.  but my love for them does not diminish.  i believe that is how god loves us."

these people will probably never meet, nor would they be likely to carry on such a conversation with each other if they ever did meet.  but what is interesting to me, and what touches my heart, is what is so obvious.  these people could not be farther apart, more opposite in their belief systems.  neither one would consider the other to be "right."  and it's not about right.  or wrong.  things are not always right or wrong, sometimes they just are.  and how important is it if one of them believes in God, or the Universe, or a Supreme Being, or Love, etc? …  at the core of each one, all of these are the same … the very inner spirit, the love, is the same.  the root, is love.  the common bond, is love.  the most important thing, the truest connection, is love.  this is the universal language and it was my honor to find myself as like a midpoint between these two energies.  as if i could look to the left and see one; look to the right and see the other ... and know that i am surrounded by love.  i believe we can all connect to others in this simple and natural way.  all it takes is one person at a time.  once you connect with one other person not at face value, but as a human being, at this core level of one heart to another, there is no judgment there.  there is no room for it.  and this becomes more natural and more instinctual.  this is what so many people are missing in their own lives.  this is what so many people are missing about everyone else around them.  they are so busy forgetting to look at the hearts of others; instead … they are looking only … at what they see…

and this is simply, not,  the best that we can do.