Skin

Listen to me

I want to tell you something

I want you to sit back, close your eyes and think about this:

I want you to look at this thing we do

this living

and the vast complicated world we live in

and the joy and suffering we experience

the victories, the losses, the fear, the love

there's so much to learn

and we're just too short on time

and we're too short on knowledge

think of your skin

in our skin it's too easy to feel how small and insignificant we are

I want to tell you what I've learned about skin

who we are within and without of this skin

I want to tell you about the blessing and the beauty of skin

the curse and the crime of it

let me tell you what I know about the secret of skin:

skin is a roadmap of our lives

every freckle is a footprint

and every scar is a snapshot of a point along our journey

our skin is unique to us

its colour and scent

its solace and safety

think about the dips, the valleys and the pleasures of it

in giving, in receiving and knowing

but we think our skin separates us from each other and from god

in our darker moments we fear that this shell that holds our spirits is also our prison

if we can't understand the secret of skin we're just like a dog who's only known a short rope

and we sniff the air around our small worlds and snarl at those who walk too close

in the confines of this, our skin, we forget who we are and think we're something we're not:

alone

separate

isolated

but we're not alone

we're part of each other

we're part of the world, the universe and beyond

within us, without us and through us, we belong

so if there's one thing we need to know and only one thing

please believe this:

we are here for a purpose

know that you are here for a reason

know that you have a right to be here

you have a right to belong

you have a right to speak, to breathe, to sing, to pray, to cry, to love, to shout out your hope and despair

to reach out to others, to give, to receive, to know:

there is a beauty in you

a beauty that is unique only to you

and that you have gifts to offer this world that no one else has

that you have a light within yourself that shines as bright as any star

and know that if you remove yourself from this, the whole

we all become that much smaller

so celebrate the skin

celebrate yourself

celebrate the world

know that your skin is here to allow you to feel the hands you reach out to hold