Uncover the gold.

There’s a true story that I heard and really love about an old, plaster Buddha statue. 

Back in the 1950s, this large, centuries old statue needed to be relocated. It was during the move process that things went seemingly wrong - the plaster on the statue began to crack. At first, it appeared broken. On closer inspection though, the movers saw glimmers of gold shining through the cracks. They peeled back layers of plaster to find a treasure - a golden Buddha. No rust, no tarnish. Solid gold. 

Historians looked into this and believe the pure gold statue was covered over with plaster hundreds of years back during a war, to protect it from being stolen or destroyed. Indeed, the statue survived all those years and many never knew what was inside.

I love this true story because it is a great metaphor for what is inside of each of us - something so valuable, perfect even. But often times as we navigate the turbulence of our lives, we find ways to protect ourselves. Like a golden statue covered in plaster, we hide in order to survive. Sadly though, we might forget who we are in this process. We may identify as our layers of titles, busyness, defenses, achieving, people pleasing, or more. In a way, we miss out. The people around us do too.

Fortunately or not though, life has a way of presenting circumstances that push us to see cracks in these protections. Or maybe we just realize the need to slow down, stop even, and look inside. If we pay attention, we will see that all this striving and trying so hard to protect ourselves can fall away. We realize that none of what matters has to do with the layers. We don't have to try so hard. We are more than enough. We always have been. And we’ve never been that far.

When life seems to be breaking you open, let it. 

It's in those cracks where you uncover the gold.