Welcome.
Take a breath with me,
In through the nose,
And out through the mouth.
This meditation,
Or this story,
Is for anyone who feels like they've been carrying a lot.
For anyone who feels like they've had to hide behind something,
Be it a mask,
A role,
Or a version of yourself you built just to make it through.
Maybe you've been shaped by opinions,
Or weighted down by judgment,
Or wrapped in expectations that aren't even yours anymore.
You've worn them like armor.
Not because you wanted to,
But because you've had to.
We all do it.
We protect what's sacred in us,
And over time,
That protection becomes a wall.
It becomes heavy,
Really heavy,
To carry around,
And we start to forget what's underneath.
This reminds me of a story.
Long ago,
In Thailand,
There was a great Buddha statue,
Made entirely of gold.
It stood in a temple,
Radiant and bright.
But when the country faced invasion,
The monks feared that soldiers would steal or destroy it.
So they covered it,
Layer by layer,
With clay,
Plaster,
Stone,
Until it looked really dull,
Ordinary,
Unremarkable.
No one would suspect its true worth.
And it worked.
Soldiers came,
And they went,
And the golden Buddha was left untouched.
The soldiers came,
And they went,
And the golden Buddha was left untouched.
But as years passed,
The people forgot what was beneath all of the layers of clay,
Of plaster,
Of stone.
Generations came,
And they went,
And all they knew was a simple clay statue.
Then,
Centuries later,
When it was being moved,
A crack appeared.
And through that crack,
A glimmer of light.
Curiously,
The monks began to chip away,
And little by little,
They uncovered the truth.
Beneath all that clay was solid gold.
And for me,
The story is a reminder.
Never to forget what's truly inside.
What we all carry,
Deep beneath the layers,
Beneath the rolls,
The expectations,
The opinions and fears that form our outer shell.
The armor that helps us survive in a really harsh world.
We forget.
Of course we do.
Everyone forgets.
But maybe you'll be reminded.
But may you be reminded,
Even in small ways.
In the smile of a friend.
In the way someone you love looks at you with that quiet awe in their eyes.
Maybe you remember that beneath everything you think you are,
Lies what you truly are.
Gold,
Beauty,
Radiant,
And everything of real value this world holds.
Because you are life.
And you are energy.
And you are motion.
And yes,
People will try to dim that light.
And yes,
You'll try to dim it too.
To stay safe,
To fit in,
To protect yourself.
That's okay.
That's part of being human.
But please,
Don't forget the gold.
Don't forget to let the light shine through your cracks.
You don't have to walk around in your full glory all the time.
You just have to be,
You just have to remember it's still there.
Because beneath every layer,
Every scar,
Every shell,
You're still gold.
And it's okay to let it shine.
It's okay to take one last breath in and let it out slowly.
And may you never forget the value and the beauty that lies within you.
Have a lovely day.
