Daily Thoughts 3

Yesterday I had the opportunity to drive with one of my oldest friends to Acadia National Park, an island off the coast of Maine, to drop her son off at camp. It was long drive (6 hours each way) but gave us the chance to share the updates of each other’s lives. We only see each other a few times a year, so we treasure the opportunity to dig deep into conversation about our families, work, friends, and lives. Before we left to drive home we stopped at the beautiful smooth rock beach. The stones were worn smooth by the running water from the river and crashing waves from the ocean. The trees on the ragged cliffs above were dwarf and thick, and leaned into the wind. It was one of the most beutiful places I have ever been. As we sat and admired the cove a group of hikers arrived. They took photographs and exclaimed to each other how beautiful the place was. 

In nature we admire the things that are worn, thrashed, burned and regrown, cracked, and struggle to survive. The rocks are smooth and canyons are deep because they endure the erosion that water creates as it wears away at the stone. The trees we admire gain their shape and color from surviving the wind, thin soil, and fire. Even the animals we admire in nature have adapted to their environment because they have had to survive and the characteristics that help them survive are what we (and others in their species) see as beautiful. Natural beauty is not comprised of things that have seen no adversity and felt no pain. They are beautiful because of the what they have endured. 

What if we began to see our scars and winkles, or our broken places as beautiful. What if we saw adversity as an opportunity to grow stronger and more desirable. What if we stopped trying to erase our pain and struggle from view, and honored it as the journey that allows us to be here today? How would that shift everything? Would it give us permission to dive deeper into the unknown? Would it help us see our miss steps as growth opportunities rather than failure? Would it help us hold ourselves with more compassion, because we are messy mistake making humans. Would it allow us more compassion for others? I am going to give it a try!