As she stands at the mirror
and rests her gaze,
she looks deeply into her face.
Into herself.
There are changes, there is no denying this fact.
The working surface does not lie.
Lines are now etched where so many feelings have been expressed.
Once it was only silence, numbness...
it's more a desire now to feel.
She feels movement, internally driven, whilst remaining still.
The many aspects of herself begin to gather,
and seat themselves around the table.
Under her gaze, her presence, they all vie for her attention.
The child, frightened of life itself, was once always in control,
But no longer cries out the loudest.
The critic, ready to launch a tirade of not measuring up, is waiting it's turn.
The victim, busy trying to hide under the table...muttering of wrongdoings.
They are all present, including many, many more.
All part of her collective self and story.
Each must be warmly welcomed at the table,
with compassion, love and inclusion.
Borne of a culture and family that bred dissatisfaction with the self,
with the individual and unique nature of all,
she welcomes the voice of her essential being.
Albeit soft, and sometimes barely a whisper,
it waits patiently and knowingly for her to catch up.
To acknowledge her truth, the truth of all.
Smiling from the head of the table,
the essential being, the spirit, welcomes them all.
At times she is still very distracted by the child, the critic, the victim.
Their constant chattering, projections, and mistruths.
It wasn't always easy to gaze this way.
The separation from, and rejection of the true self creates an inability to embrace oneself lovingly,
or objectively.
But the essential being in all of us waits as long as it takes.
It has all of eternity,
to trace the footsteps of time.
To celebrate the full and beautiful life that is expressed in that face.
Underneath all the voices, a river of truth runs deeply.
We are all beautiful.