Sea Glass

We all come into this world as beautiful glass bottles- filled to the brim with wonderful goodness to share with the world. Some are sweet, some are bitter, and some are utterly intoxicating. Some give you a sugar rush, and some get better with age.

And some are drained well before their time. Misused, and left broken to try and piece themselves together. Lamentable, mere shards of their original splendor. They cannot imagine being loved as the shards they now are, and wonder if perhaps that is their own fault. People walk by the shards without a second glance, or throw them away as worthless garbage.

But some, a very lucky few, find their way to the sea. Over many years (it averages 20-30 years) they are churned and tumbled with the waves and sand of the ocean. They lose their inherent shine, their smooth surface and take on a frosted finish and appear to glow from deep within.

When the time is right, the sea returns the glass to the beach. Now, the same passerby who would not spare a glance or tossed them aside notice them. They are rare, coveted. They are Sea Glass. Despite humble beginnings, and tragic circumstances they have been remade into something even more beautiful than before.

But they could not have become as they are now were it not for the original hardships, were they not broken they could not have been swept away with the tide. Had they not been reduced to shards, they could not have become jewels.

We are not broken, we are not lost, we are not wrong. We are sea glass. We are who we are. Not everyone can appreciate the same beauty, some eyes are blinded by the inner glow. We were not created to thrive in a controlled environment. We are beautiful as we are, and do not require refinishing.

Remember your inner peace, recognize your unique beauty, remember your own strength. You were tumbled by waves, the fury of the ocean herself could not reduce you. As you were broken, now you are whole. You are no longer a shard- you are a gem of the sea. 

~*~*~*~*~*~

Too often, we allow our worth to be measured by the rules of others. Their opinions, their standards. To the average person, a broken bottle is garbage. Because it no longer serves their purpose, it is without value. It cannot sit on a shelf and be beautiful, it can no longer hold beverages. Its original value is gone. However, there are rare people. They comb the beach in the spring and during low tides looking for sea glass. They appreciate the unique beauty that can only come from being broken, churned, and re-emerging. 

Many people prefer to use the metaphor of turning into a butterfly. But a caterpillar begins life with the expectation that they will go through metamorphosis and gain their beautiful wings. They do not struggle, they simply fulfill what is expected of them. A glass bottle, on the other hand, is never expected to be anything more than what it is expected to be; a vessel. When its time as a vessel is spent the bottle is discarded. Becoming Sea Glass exceeds that expectation, and takes an entirely unexpected path to do so. It is beauty beyond original purpose, and as such is something to be admired.

~Night Rose