Beyond The Packaging

As a chocolate lover, or connoisseur, as I like to refer to myself, when I arrived at my destination, I received these wonderful surprises from a new found friend! 

It was truly a way to instantly become an old, stick-around-for-as-long-as-you-like-kind-of friend!
But there was something more this friend did not know.

Yes, it is correct that I more than love chocolate, but the truth is, is that I would not ever buy these for myself.

You see, they are an "indulgence", something I would not invest in. At least not for me.  (Although I have not had a problem ingesting quite a few given a public, open-ended opportunity.)

I was so touched by the gesture that it emotionally moved me. You see, I realized that hiding beyond the packaging, between the finely wrapped cocoa, was a lesson which would last much longer than the delectables themselves.

It made me question, 'Why does it take someone else to see and recognize our value?,
To see that it is o.k. and even important to add richness to life?,  To once in a while pamper ourselves with something we would not do otherwise?, To give ourselves loving attention?, To not need a reason to celebrate?'

So often we, mainly women, will not take time to look beyond the packaging of our outward appearance and see the real value to what lies inside.  Inside our hearts and souls, where maybe not many people get to really see and partake of.  We do not share the richness of our lives because we it keep stored away, not ever indulging our spirits, that honors who we really are. We instead are reserved, only bringing ourselves out for special occasions which usually are for someone elses needs.

But isn't living "special occasion" enough? Is not every day a day to celebrate our arrival into this home we call life? 

Because of this lesson, I hope to continue not only being a connoisseur of chocolate, but of a very rich, sweet life!  Thank you, my friend!



"Do not doubt the goodness in you. It is inappropriate." ~Dodinsky, www.dodinsky.com 
 

 

A Father's Love Story

When the package he had ordered arrived, there were no instructions included.
This was a cause for concern, as the contents were an indescribably, beautiful, priceless item.

He wondered however was he supposed to know how to care for such a precious gift.
So he decided just to follow what felt right to him inside his being, and just treat it with as much love and respect and care as it looked like it deserved, and hope that that would be enough to protect it from harm.

He chose however, not to keep it confined to only himself, as he felt others should be able to appreciate the exquisite phenomenon.
What he did not realize was that the loveliness and beauty that would be recognized by others would also cause them to want to take it to be a part of their lives too.

This time, setting aside the protective, almost selfish instinct he had within, he reluctantly, but lovingly yielded, allowing it to be shared.
With a weighty heart and ever so gentle hands, he painstakingly placed his irreplaceable treasure out into the world, tearfully kissing it goodbye, knowing it would never leave him completely, as although physically separated from him, they were a spiritually emotional forever bond.

This time there were instructions included that read: 'Fragile, treat with love, lots and lots of love!'

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone


The guys who fear becoming fathers don't understand that fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man. The end product of child raising is not the child but the parent. ~Frank Pittman, Man Enough