Looks are deceiving. How pristine this picture looks. But, I know what lies beneath the surface. A crumb coated rug. Chairs filled with flakes of yesterday’s food. And, If you look close you’ll see a toy camouflaged on the floor and Rice Krispies coated in milk and crusted to the table.
Isn’t life a lot like this?
It all can look so put together . . .
on the outside.
A fashionable feed. A nice car. A new house. J. Crewcuts looking kids.
Maybe you aren’t looking close enough? Maybe, you are zooming by in your own new car, covered in crumbs. Put together and coming undone. Probably, the mom at school drop off on her way to pilates is too.
What if we all looked a little closer. Behind the sunglasses. Past the surface. What if we became experts at spotting the crumbs. Finding the left over flakes of yesterday or yesteryear. Not to judge. Not to see if another’s mess is bigger then our own. If they are flakier. But, to have compassion. To have empathy. To give a smile. To encourage. And, if the opportunity arises, to say, “I have been there too,” or maybe “I am covered in crumbs myself.”
“Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
Have you heard these words of truth by Ian Maclaren? I love them. These words are good to swallow because many times we don’t even realize there are battles going on everywhere and at all times, unless we ourselves have been through one. It’s true that our battles, struggles, lives, are not the same, but the impact and attached feelings of pain, hurt, abandonment, grief, loneliness – they are universal.
Let’s look for the crumbs and crusty bits today. Behind the sunglasses.
I have been so put together and undone at the same time, and I’m guessing you have too.