I recently posted a photo of a tree overlooking the ocean on my Instagram (@butterflyempire). While I do not consider myself a professional photographer by any means, I thought it was a beautiful picture… until someone commented, “So sad, that tree was amazing.” It took me a moment to fully understand what they meant. Then I realized that they were not critiquing my photo taking skills, but referring to the state of the tree itself. I never noticed that the tree was broken and damaged. I also never once considered what it might have looked like before it had collapsed. I thought it was beautiful and unique just the way that it was.
How often do we consider ourselves like the broken tree? We think that our faults, imperfections and shortcomings turn us into something unlovable and hideous. When in reality, people aren’t even looking at that part. They are so focused on the scenery that it makes our battle scars almost invisible. What we consider damaged is only a very small part of ourselves, and if we step back to look at the whole picture, we can see our full beauty.
All my love,
That’s wonderful 💜