you are beautiful
You were born a Stone Age baby into the chaotic maelstrom of whirling confusion that is characterized by modern, western, first-world existence. You have millions of years of collective memory stashed away in your unconscious. Every now and then, and rather unexpectedly, the knowledge of your ancestors, of my ancestors, appears in your waking life. You know things you don’t remember learning. You are beautiful. You are perfect. Your whole life has led you to this moment. And your next step will determine the rest of your life. What will you do with this moment? What of you will your descendants, my descendants, recall and take with them?
You are more than your job. You are more than your voting record. You are more than the films you enjoy or the music you collect. You are more than firing synapses or coursing serotonin. And you are no more your physical features than you are the muscle and bones and blood flowing beneath them. Every cell in your body has been completely replaced over and over again, yet you remain inexplicably you. You are a miracle.
Your understanding of the world is based on your experiences, that is, your experiences up to this moment. In a way, your experiences affect me as well. They become me as they become you, but that doesn’t mean I feel them in the same way as you do. Don’t let anyone ever tell you, “I know how you feel.” Because they don’t know, they can’t. We may use the same words, but words are dead. They are nothing without the meaning you ascribe to them. And our experiences determine that ascription. This doesn’t mean you can’t thank them for the display of empathy.
We are so much more alike, you and I, than we are different. You are good. You are more complex than the masculine and feminine roles assigned to you. You are more attractive than any airbrushed creation of the corporate owned media. Somewhere, somebody loves you. Somewhere.
Your life is of your creation and no one else—as wide and deep and passionate and meaningful as you can imagine. Deep down, you are still a dreamer, a fighter, a thinker, a lover. And you are much more than all of this as well. Though the systems that construct a false sense of order to our lives would rather you forget.
This moment is holy. Take it in. There will never be another like it. This moment is as unique and exceptional as you are. Under the concrete, beneath the layers of social constructions, of cultural myths about the one “right” way to live, the stories of science that renders progress and dominance unquestionably right, beyond a culture no longer driven by well-meaning hearts like yours, there is a world you used to know, a real world that deeply misses you.
Explore posts in the same categories: language, identity
February 11th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Kyle, that was beautiful. You articulated so much truth. Beneath it all we are souls incarnate from the same source. Thank you for writing this.
February 11th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
I couldn’t agree more. your words caressed places I didn’t realize yearned for attention. your words are powerful and they shook me out of myself. thank you
February 11th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
You’re cooking WHAT for dinner??