On The Shelf.. .. ..

I heard a Motivational Speaker this weekend who made things make a lot of sense. Here's the story.. .. ..

People and Pottery

When making pottery, it's a long process. There are a lot of steps involved to make sure each piece turns out in good quality.

The first step is choosing the clay. A piece is picked out of thousands of possible pieces. Colors are different, thickness, size.. .. ..

Second, you mold the clay. Adding water and gently guiding the clay into the figure you intend for it to be.

Third, you pull all the imperfections out. Pieces of grass, dirt, rocks, that are embedded in the clay. If you don't pull these out then when put in the kiln the clay will break and crack. So you pull those out then continue to mold and clean, mold and clean.

After that the clay has to dry before going into the kiln. Again, to prevent cracking and breaking. The mold you made has to sit and slowly let the moisture out and dry to a strong level to withstand the flames of the kiln. Only once that's been accomplished can you successfully go through the fire and come out a beautiful piece of art afterwards.

Still with me??

So, we are all a slab of clay. Our lives mold us. We add to our lives, like the water, to help us grow and help shape us. We pick up potential hazards. Like the grass and rocks, we have pain and hurt. We have character flaws like jealousy, anger, stubborness.. .. .. All things we must pull out of ourselves and must heal. The things that if we don't heal and don't pull out will break us in the fires of life.

And then we must sit still and let it all dry in. Let it just be. Take our time before combatting the next fire and make sure we're ready for that. Ready to become the piece of art we're intended to be.

Once we enter the fire we'll be ready. The fire can be anything substantal in life. Maybe it's something bad. For me, last years break up was a horrible horrible fire that I was NOT prepared for and I broke. I shattered into many pieces because I was not ready for the fire.

Maybe the next kiln I enter will be a great one. Maybe it'll be a beautiful relationship. Maybe it'll be moving. Who knows what's in store for me.

But I wholeheartedly believe that the last seven months I was a ball of wet clay. Being molded, working out the imperfections, growing, nuturing, healing. And now I sit and dry. I allow everything I have learned to soak in. I practice the skills and qualities I want to master. I sit, patiently growing, knowing that in taking my time I am enabling myself to stregnthen through whatever fire I may find myself in. But I do NOT want to jump into any fire or rush anything. I understand the importance of healing by myself on the shelf.. .. ..

I do not want to crack again. I do not want to crumble. So if that means sitting on the shelf for a little longer and continuing to just BE, then I am more than happy to sit here. And it's not so scary and not so lonely when you know it's not the end - sitting on the shelf - but really it's just the best possible beginning .. .. ..