Look under the ugly rocks

Sometimes I come bursting with ideas to write about and yet no where to start. When this happens, like today, I make catchy titles and try to make it work. If I got one thing out of public school, it was how to write a "hook", the grabber, attention getter etc. Yay?

I am certain that whether you know this or not, or look at it similarly to how I do, you have ugly rocks in your life. Ya know, the eyes sores. The gross moss and mold covered stones that you not only walk around, you don't dare turn them over. These are ugly rocks.

Ugly rocks come in every shape, size, weight and width, and they don't follow any scheme or pattern as to when and where they will emerge along your walk. These ugly rocks represent a lot more than just "life's trials". They could be people, jobs, injuries, broken relationships, unmet needs, opportunities in disguise, future best friends, or new destinations. See these ugly rocks can be pretty facetious (okay I lied, I learned that word in public school too). They can be so deceiving that whether good, bad, or indifferent, we pay no mind to them. In our society, we have been trained (brain washed) to walk by ugly rocks. If it doesn't glisten, sparkle, and catch your eye, it's not worth your time. You missed out on a conversation at a cafe because you were too busy rolling your eyes at a woman and her screaming child, and it could have introduced you to her husband who just so happens to be the CEO of your dream company. You find yourself signing up for cruises on someone else's schedule, when your soul aches to care for sweet orphans in the Philippines but let's face it, cruises are just "easier" to do. Let's not forget walking by the stone that is covering a big fat awful failure of yours. You'll turn that stone over one day and make a smooth flat rock, but not today, you have things to do.

You have things to do, people to impress, interviews to tackle, new relationships to create, vacations to plan, picket fences to live behind, secrets to sweep under the rug, failures to not face, family to avoid and that's just today. So God forbid you take time to look at a stinkin rock, when you have ALL of that to juggle. I mean forgetting failures is way easier than facing them, right?

I can't toot my own horn here either. I just realize this issue of mine and see it on a way bigger scale than I think most do. Maybe it's not worthy of such a big scale, but here's my soap box spin on things anyways.

If I had only taken the good looking pavers in my life and never flipped over a nasty ugly rock, I would have graduated with a bachelor's degree from USF in Education 2 weeks ago. But Sasha! How is that bad?!
Ideally, it's not. Degrees are great.
But I chose to flip over a rock called ""NOT-norm"" and then another called "courage" and finally "independence". What did I get? A two year adventure that landed me right back where I left, really. AHA! See Sasha, flipped stones is overrated. NO, no. Let me finish. See, what I learned and experienced in those two years, a bachelor's degree can't even touch. Finding out what I'm passionate about (which ISN'T education), finding out who I am, discovering friendships all over the globe, jobs I never would have imagined and a mind I never thought I could change SO freaking much. All because I decided to give that little ugly rock a glance.

I'm not saying you should search and conquer every ugly rock in your life, but maybe just be open  to the idea for next time. Sometimes ugly rocks won't end up pretty on the other side. Ugly rocks can host ugly things too. Can't say you didn't try though.

Just remember, the more ugly rocks you leave unturned, the more likely you are to fall. Ugly, mossy rocks are real slippery yall.