Pieces of Your Soul

I have a confession to make….I wear glasses…rose colored ones,in fact.

I see things differently, because I  decided to look upon things with eyes of love, seeking the beauty in the brokenness and the grace  in the remnants of leftovers, and finding opportunities and gifts in unexpected places.

Perhaps this is why I’m so attracted to hunting around in thrift stores and garage sales,flea markets and antique shops.  I like to see the history,the dents,the marks,the soul of furniture and try to imagine who used it before, where it had been and why it wound up for sale.
The chair with the frayed seat can become a planter, the beaten dresser can recieve a fresh coat of paint and be repurposed as a buffet, the  cracked pitchers can be filled with flowers, and the pile of broken china can become a lovely mosaic.

It’s all in the way you look at things. Sometimes you just have to look a little harder,wipe off the dust and grime, put in some elbow grease, and work hard to reveal the beauty and give new life. once you’ve done this,it has pieces of your soul in it….and it’s  even more meaningful.

That’s the way it is with relationships,too. Sometimes it’s so easy to walk away,to give up, to build up walls of carefully laid bricks of resentment,distrust,hurt and anger or just plain and simple,apathy.
We let our wounds turn us into someone we are not,someone we don’twant to be.
Well, I’ve learned something during the past few months that has both shaken me to my very core and strengthen my very soul.
I’ve learned to dig deep inside and to look for glimpses of what was once beautiful and work hard to restore it.
I’ve reached out first- to the friend that drifted away, to the writer that once shared words with me. I’m made plans and accepted invitations from people I haven’t seen in ages, just to see what the possibility could be.
I’ve also given space to the friend that knows what “six words” means and the other that only needed one.

I learned that sometimes people step back ,not because they don’t value the friendship but because life becomes so overwhelming.
It could simply be that there’s other things that have to come first, at least for now.

Relationships take time-time to laugh,to share, to grow and to change.
Sometimes we hold on to what used to be- instead of giving it a chance to become something else.
The former spouse can become a trusted friend, the childhood playmate can turn into an inspiration, the ex-lover might just become your best friend, the former boss can turn into an invaluable resource.
It may take time, it may not be easy at first but giving relationships a “fresh coat of paint” and a different purpose just might create something beautiful, and,no matter what, they always have pieces of your soul in them, even if the connection must end.

Feel with both hands, Jeanna’