A well-used, worn piece of cracked pottery is still beautiful when the light is allowed to filter through its cracks and chips.

Imagine an ancient water jug that has cracks and chips, where the paint has faded and the shine has worn away from over-use. When we look at it, we can appreciate how it has served a purpose and been useful in the past.

We can honor its history – where it came from, where it’s been, what it was used for and how it may have been cherished. Maybe it was an heirloom and passed down lovingly from person to person. We can imagine the tables it may have sat on, the people who were gathered around and the stories that were shared over whatever the jug poured out.

Imagine if you were to examine the jug up close, how you would see all the lines, the fractures, the imperfections, and yet, it would still seem beautiful because of the wholeness you can see even if it no longer exists in its current, physical expression.

Perhaps you would be able to discern the beauty of how each fractured line represents wisdom and lessons that were learned. How the jug itself blends together functionality, purpose and beauty in one.

Now, imagine that YOU are this piece of pottery, a sculpture in human form. Can you see ALL of who you are, beyond your imperfections? Do you accept all of who you are and love yourself despite your imperfections? Do you recognize that every aspect of yourself, including all of your experiences, have forged you to become who you were meant to be? Do you recognize that you, too, have a purpose and have a greater impact on those around than you realize? And most importantly, do you allow your Truth and Beauty to shine through the cracks?

If you struggle to “completely and deeply love and accept” yourself, do you find yourself wearing a mask to prevent others from seeing you truly for who you are? Do you find yourself trying to fit yourself into a box in order to gain acceptance or recognition from others?

You don’t need to hide or mask any aspect of yourself. You are perfectly imperfect and it is because of those “imperfections” that you are brilliantly magnificent, unique and irreplaceable. Your “cracks and chips” allow your SOUL to SHINE through.

Your imperfections are only reminders of what lies beneath, which is wisdom, knowledge and truth. You have earned them through your experiential knowing.

You should be proud of what you have overcome because your struggles and adventures are what your soul needed to experience in order to know itself.

Choosing and surrendering to this journey of life and allowing it to flow through you, until more and more light pours out of you, is what you are here to experience. It’s in the shadows that we find the light.

We tend to forget that there is light within us, or what I refer to as divine consciousness, and when we choose to remember it, through the experiences we create, that is when transformation happens. That is an awakening.

Awakenings can happen from disruptions in our lives where the universe tries to get us back on track and align us to our higher path. Our soul is meant to travel in this human form to remember Who We Are experientially and to express ourselves authentically and fully, without equivocation. That is our true Purpose.

Approach your challenges and struggles with gratitude and they will bring forth your greatest gifts. Remember and know who you are and love yourself completely for you are perfectly imperfect!

Leonard Cohen said, “There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” I’d like to change it to “That’s how the light shines OUT”!

Let your SOUL SHINE through YOU!