pieces

Layers of a snakes skin shed. Out with the old and in with the new. once the surface has seen enough days, it leaves the body slowly. weathered and worn by whatever life brings its way, its replaced with refreshing, new, and pretty skin. As a snake sheds, so do we.
Humans aren't so lucky to shed their skin the way that a snake does, although many shallow, superficial, warped people would love to have their damaged skin replaced with baby-smooth flesh. wrinkle free. What we shed is usually uncomfortable and sometimes even painful. Personality traits that we realize aren't attractive and never have been. Defects in our character that hold us back from  growing spiritually and building with others. Ideas that were born out of closed-mindedness and fostered by years of resentment.
This shedding also doesn't come naturally. It takes effort and perseverance. hard work. These pieces of us that seemed so concrete fall away and leave empty spaces. Feeling a broken and beaten, we seek to fill the void. Being the stagnant recluse is easy, but growing is challenging. We can either be depressed and feel less than, or we can allow ourselves to grow. The pieces that have fallen away make us feel broken , but allow us to grow in ways we never knew were possible. And even though this process is painful, and intimidating, something beautiful happens when we allow it to. Sometimes we experience new things, meet new people, and begin thinking differently. And then sometimes we finally see that we've been beautiful and creative all along, we've just been blinded by guilt, shame, and the seemingly overbearing opinions of people around us.