Seeing
Under the Skin
“All
great moments of conception—the birth of mountains, of trees, of
fish, of prophets, and the truth of relationships that last—all
begin where no one can see...”
Mark
Nepo (The Book of Awakening)
When
I was a school girl, there were in my same class a boy and girl who
loved one another. From seventh grade through high school, they were
sweethearts. After high school, they went away to different colleges.
When college was finished, she went abroad to study in France, and
he went to seminary back in the states. And when all of that was
done, they married and have been married ever since. Twelve years of
dating, and at this point, approaching forty-plus years of marriage.
These two people saw something in each other as children that they
knew could not be found in any other, and they cultivated what no one
else could see.
Sometimes
we have to look hard to see the soul of another, and to realize that
we are the same as they. It is our nature as humans to believe we are
unique, somehow special and different. It takes unflinching courage
to look at another and see your own reflection, especially if there
is something about them you don't like. We all come from the same
material, our DNA is almost identical, our bodies and minds operate
the same. Our physical appearance may be somewhat different, but we
are in essence alike. All of us begin as microscopic cells that no
one can see with their eyes, but under a microscope those cells all
look the same.
We
must cultivate what we cannot see. We must realize that the spirit
that enlivens all others is the same one that enlivens us. We are
brothers and sisters under the skin. It is our job not to extinguish
what is so beautifully wrought, but to nourish and protect it.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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