"There...There..."

What you see is not always what you get. What you get is not always what you see. "There There...." ~Judgment is discernment on a bad hair day. ~ I had a hard childhood. Anyone who grew up in the ghetto and poor could fall in that category. Not everyone mind you. I will be throwing no blanket statements for that one. The truth is, however, is that many CAN relate, and I am one of that many. But.... it wasn't ALL bad. I had plenty of great experiences, yes...even in Baltimore. Even in the rough moments there was plenty of beauty.... You just had to know how to look for it and see it. One of the things I have missed about the East Coast, mainly the DMV area was the amount of green that greeted you everywhere you looked. Bushes... trees, sprawling green lawns, rolling emerald park hills. The summer and spring both brought a riot of color for as far as the eye could see. Now... I am about to make another statement that is an assumption on my part, but I am more than sure that it rings truer than not. Whether it’s the park, or my front lawn, I clearly remember the yellow of the flower called "Butter cup", (Not to be confused with the Princess from the Princess Bride.) Now... even though I grew up thinking "Oh how pretty", the Butter Cup or also known as Ranunculus is a what they call a perennial and is often looked at as a weed by those who like a pure green lawn. I .... was not one of those people. More importantly, just because some called a weed in the name of purity...I called it a "pretty flower” and couldn't wait until Spring or Summer to have the chance to pick a few and give them to my grandmother. This is where perspective comes into play, despite the truth. What I mean by that.... The Butter cup is.... a flower. It is a beautiful, yellow flower that screams Summer...and Parks. But... we have been convinced by some that it is a gasp.... weed. Something to be plucked, torn up and discarded. Opinions, no matter how one might feel does not always echo the truth. And judgement is completely different than discernment. With that in mind I urge you... be more discerning and less judgmental. Open you mind to uncovering the full truth versus the part that was given to you and appreciated the parts that lie in between the lines. Each and all of us were born looking at things the way we were told to look at them. On so many levels, it has been a detriment, even if it was well intentioned. Looking but not seeing is the same as keeping your eyes closed. See thing as they are and then look a little closer to understand what you are actually seeing. Not just because someone told you so... but because you took to time to ensure it was so. It is there in that space we learn to unwrap...unpack the coverings and appreciate the beauty in what we have been looking at all along. There is a whole wide world for us to SEE. People who are different, foods with different spices, point of views that still echo the love that is humanity. But we must be willing to read the words on the page, to understand and to learn and use them. Sometimes it’s not a glass water half full or half empty. It is simply a glass of water and I happen to be thirsty. Drink up....