Most of us sense that summer is evaporating, and fall is fast approaching. For many, these months just behind us and the few to come are filled with reunions. Family reunions. School reunions. Teachers’ reunions. Gatherings and get-togethers of all kinds. Some happen with a regular rhythm, while others are more sporadic, contingent upon someone stepping up to get it all organized. For those of us who do not regularly participate in such gatherings, the thought of attending one might be formidable.
For many, those anxious concerns center around appearance. Can I lose enough weight before that date? What will I wear? Should I color my hair? How will my family/classmates/colleagues view me? But another layer involved in such experiences has more to do with what’s inside us. The stories we carry. The memories we hold. The secrets we hide. The dreams we harbor. When asked or invited to share, what will we say? How much will we reveal?
These are the mosaics we create. A mosaic, of course, is made up of many pieces of stone or glass or ceramic. These fragments are usually multi-colored. Often a pattern is achieved, or an illustration is accomplished through the arrangement of the pieces. As we share our stories and convey our memories to an interested listener, we are creating a mosaic of our life from the previous encounter to the present. We might call this “catching up.”
Each one of us has a deep well of experiences filled with the days and years that have elapsed. How will we portray the scenes and relay the characters that swim in the waters of our deep well? Which will we draw to the surface and how many will remain unsummoned? And what will our listener “see” of our life as we create these mosaics? A realistic portrait or a heavily edited version of our journey? A snapshot of the surface or a dip into the depths?
There’s not too much we can manipulate about our appearance. Crash diets and hair treatments go only so far in altering the truth of who we have become compared to who we once were. But we are largely the master mixers of our mosaics (except for all that circulates through the family grapevine!). What if we were to take just a moment now to reach into the well and turn over a few fragments of our life? Which ones feel most significant? How many are chipped or broken? What are we most drawn to shimmering with beauty in the light of day?
We are mosaics in the making.
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