I recorded this last week as I was thinking about the ways we hide ourselves away. I hope you enjoy it. I've included the text below in case you want to read it rather than listening to it. The picture above is of a rough blue opal. This is how gems look before we polish them, and the picture captures what this post means to me — that, underneath all of the rough stuff we put out in the world, there's some supreme beauty just waiting to be seen.
You're hiding.
Strip away the makeup, the hair, the clothes, and the social facade you put on.
Strip away the expectations, assumptions, self-talk, head-trash, and labels.
Strip away the not-good-enoughs, the second-guessing, the worry, and the proving.
Now, there you are.
This you is powerful.
This you is beautiful.
This you has something to share and knows it.
This you is also probably pretty raw right now.
You're not used to standing in the light of day and it might be a little intense.
This you is the real you.
This you is the one who can smile and cry freely, want and need openly, and love and cherish authentically.
This is you at your best.
This you is what we wait for and connect with.
This you disarms all the weapons we don't need and slices through the shields we've put up.
This you allows us to be ourselves.
All those other layers aren't you.
They're just the trappings of society, fear, and over-analysis.
They're only as real as we let them be.
You can turn the lights back down if you need to, but know that it's your choice.
This you can come out whenever you're ready.