A Soul Encounter I dare you to stand in a mirror and just look at yourself. Stand there, product free- don't pick up a brush. Look into your eyes- and just be. Look passed their perceptions, your reflection, your insecurities, and what you believe to be flaws. Take a good look at what life has made of you. Revel in what you've made it through. Acknowledge what time has taken from you; vow to preserve. Look closer now, with new eyes; embrace every airbrush- free reality. Experience is beautiful. Experience is ugly. You are real life; existing in real time. Ugly-beautiful is what it's going to be. I dare you to resist the urge to look away- stand for just a minute in your truth. Right now, be with you. Don't be with her from back then. You can shed a tear for her every now and again, but you've already earned her stripes. Your face is stained with the strain that got you here to this day; learning yourself, understanding your place. You've stood in this mirror many times before, while listening to R&B, adding a curl to your hair; a dash of color to your lips. The cover up masks traces of every you, you've ever been. Distractions from reality. But, as is routine, you practice smiling for the day that greets you. This is what is... It's just what we do. Are you eager for the end of this in-your- face session? Tired at all, at looking deeply into your own crystal balls? We're almost done- the mirror has cracked. It can't be safe to stand so close. Hurry up and step away... But, before you do- remind yourself, to remind yourself, that no one shares life's marks on you. Your reflection tells the story of everywhere you've ever been, every nutrient you've ever consumed, and every adventure featuring you. Funny, isn't it, that looking into a mirror is the most common way- for us to view ourselves completely, but the reflection is often times incomplete. Considering that, and above all else, understand this: You have a body, not a soul. You are a soul-your soul has a body. Didn't you see?
