I wrote a poem recently entitled Tarnished.  It is about silver jewelry.  I know, I know, a woman writing a poem about jewelry—typical. But it’s not about what we see. It’s about what’s underneath the surface. As silver jewelry begins to wear with time, it changes in color. Oxygen can cause its properties to change. It becomes tarnished.  But oxidized jewelry seems to increase in value. It’s just as beautiful as normal silver, but its surface seems to tell a story. The piece is not longer just something pretty to look at. There is history behind the beauty and the beauty is still very apparent to everyone who sees it.  A lot of people are like tarnished, oxidized silver.  They are a little weathered, a little worse for the wear, but still beautiful.  Our life experiences make up our tarnish: a broken heart here, a death of a loved one there—scars that we build up over time which form the canvas of our stories.  To someone, our tarnish (story) is beautiful. There is no shame in having a history.  It’s what makes each of us uniquely beautiful.

Today’s Task: Wear your battle scars proudly.  You wouldn’t be the complete work that you are if not for a little living.  The master collector loves pieces with a background and we are all beautiful in his sight.  Your tarnish makes you worth acquiring.