carbonated joy

I look at my hands.

They are crinkly and dry.

They look like colorless stained glass…how sad is stained glass without color?

My palms closely resemble a detailed road map of southeastern Iowa. 

Right now, my hands aren’t pretty. 

Because of the medicine that I’m taking, weird stuff is happening to my skin, this week it is wrinkly and flaky. 

It looks thin. 

Actually, it looks dangerously thin, I can see blue veins. 

I can see through the thin. 

My skin is like crunchy tissue paper that looks like it could easily tear.

This is all new to me. 

I’ve never really been into skin care.

I’ve never exfoliated. 

I’ve never had a skincare regimen.

But, I really don’t like living with thin skin. 

Thin skin hurts!! 

It’s not the first time I’ve lived thin.

I’ve often lived with a thin skin. 

I’ve been easily offended by what people say (or what I think they said).

I’ve been overly sensitive to opinion and have easily given into criticism. 

I’ve changed vision and agenda because it has “bothered” others. 

I’ve believed imaginary insults and that has  clouded my perception of myself and others.

I’ve also offended others. I’ve said stupid stuff, I’ve been a jerk.

It has made my life thin in the past.

I’m ready to live thick. 

In our upside down world, offense has become a virtue.

We take one of two stands, both can cause a thin life.

First, we live afraid that we MIGHT offend. 

So we become cautious and politically correct. 

We dilute and distort so everyone likes us.

We are afraid to be ourselves because we might hurt someone’s feelings. 

We desperately try to say all the right things and make everybody happy.

That makes for a very thin existence. 

Or, second, we TRY to offend, and we applaud people who aren’t afraid to offend others with their truth. We cheer them on for “telling it like it is” when in reality, they are just being jerks. 

We turn our opinions into weapons. 

We stretch common decency until it breaks.

And we live thin. 

Thin living creates a life that can easily tear. 

Live thick!

But, how?

Treat offense like a hot potato! 

Drop it!!

Refuse to hold it or hurl it!

Offense can’t hurt you if you don’t hold it. 

Offense can’t hurt others if you don’t throw it in their face.

Offense can’t make your skin flaky and thin if you don’t come into contact with it.

Don’t live thin.

Realize that the truth about who you are is thick.

You are loved, you are enough, you matter.

Don’t believe the thin lies. 

Realize that kindness is thick. 

Build kindness muscles.

That only happens by exercising kindness.

Wrap yourself in kindness and throw it around like confetti.

Live THICK!!

and if you see me, don’t be frightened by my flaky, dry skin.

It’s temporary.

My skin will be thick again soon.