Monday, January 28, 2008

Innards of the Geode


About ten years ago I was given an intact Geode which was brought back from a trip out West. I had seen these before but they were always cut open revealing the beauty inside and always displayed as though they were a piece of art. Never before had I seen one that was still in its natural form...or so I thought at the time.

I was grateful for the gift and wanted to do something with it but it seemed as though I never found the time or had the chance to do anything but keep it wrapped in the newspaper I received it in. As a matter of fact, to this day it still lays in the bottom of a closet wrapped up and in a brown paper bag. If an unknowing person were to discover it perhaps they would simply take it for what it currently looks like; a dirty rock wrapped in old news print, maybe a doorstop.

I don't know how old these things are, nor do I know how many people have just passed them by as being useless, dull, craggy rocks but I imagine that the answer to both of those questions would be many years and many a man. This simple Geode has made me today think of the untapped beauty and worth inside of all of us. Figuratively speaking, I also wonder how many people have passed us by and thought of us as just being what we look like on the outside without bothering or finding the time to see what we may have hidden inside of us? I would even be willing to bet that some of us ourselves haven't completely discovered what we carry within.

It's so easy to take things at face value and disregard the possibilities or forget to look deeper; in my hectic days I have to admit that I do it all the time. I don't have time to explore every inch of everything or everybody to be sure that I know I haven't missed something, some hidden treasure; I find myself too wrapped up with the routine. But...this is no excuse, not a good one anyway.

This sort of reminds me of my previous post about weeds but this is slightly different. Unlike the weed who over time showed its beauty, this is about searching for it; discovering it before it presents itself. I need to sharpen my skills when it comes to recognizing the difference between a rock and a gem, a pain in the ass and someone in pain. It makes no sense to leave it to chance. Just because the outside presents itself a certain way doesn't necessarily mean the inside is the same.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we all need to slow down and look for what's not evident. Life is too damned short to let things pass us by simply because we're hurrying to get nowhere; it's too short to take anything or anyone for granted. Tomorrow these same people and things that we bypass today will be gone and we might never have the chance to savor the nougat center, the cherry in the middle so to speak, if we don't at the very least try.

More importantly is that without our searching, we may never be able to offer the deserved recognition of ones inner, beautiful crystals. The beauty that longs to be shared.

5 comments:

paisley said...

holy shit.. wait till you see what i am posting on why paisley tomorrow... i have so been thinking about his same subject......

Anonymous said...

I can't believe it either. I was talking about this today with a dear friend. Have just sent him an sms about it. Amazing!

I am now going to pull out my Geodes and put them in a place to be reminded of the inner beauty and also talk to my children about it.

I am so in awe of your writing D.S.
You are truly an amazing person.

Thankyou for all you share.

Jen

Catherine said...

It's strange that you post about this because I've been thinking about this concept as well. I always search for the beautiful crystals inside of people, but what's funny is that I don't know if I have any.

I hope this makes sense.

MedStudentWife said...

Ever thought about cracking it open ? The geod that is ???

Spicy said...

I think that's the reason why so many people don't make eye contact. Our eye's are the soul...and by looking into a person's eyes you can see cruelty or kindness, pain or joy.
Very thought-provoking post.