You Can’t Hide a Grudge in a Tank Top
Well, summer is here. Where is all that mild Asheville climate? When I was cleaning out my closet last month, putting away my winter things, I was horrified that my summer wardrobe looked like it came out of the 80’s. I am amazed how much styles change from one season to the next. Then again with all this ‘retro dabbling’ I guess part of my wardrobe did come from the 80’s.
While I was packing away my winter things, I realized just how much the cloths that keep us warm also cover up so much of ourselves in the process. We look in the mirror at the onset of spring and wonder what happened to that good looking person we said goodbye to last fall. Who stole my tan! Winter is a time when we close our doors and windows, bundle up before heading outside, walking swiftly to and from the car to work and back again and generally keeping our heads down and our eyes to the pavement. Layers, can we say layers, are the savior of our warmth and the flatterer of our soul. Layers help us hide those things that we believe will turn others to stone, but layers also give us the privilege of hiding a great deal more.
I can understand why Christmas comes in the middle of winter. Christmas is a time when we are to put aside all our arguments and petty differences and love each other regardless, even when they don’t deserve it.
There is something about winter that allows us to not only acquire new grudges, but keep and protect old ones from exposure to the elements. We hide our hurts and disappointments under an avalanche of protection, hoping that when we peel away the layers, those feelings of rejection or misunderstanding will magically vanish. We believe the old saying, time heals all wounds, but in fact, addressing hurts and disappointments and coming to grips with the way you see life and the way life sees you and desiring for a positive change, will in fact help to heal any wound you may have.
It is our nature to put off things during the winter that we believe can be better addressed in the warmer months, so we store things in corners, attics, basements and storage facilities with a vow to get rid of them when the birds start to sing again. It is easier to hide our feelings under wool and winter coats but it is much harder to hide and protect these feeling in shorts and tank tops or bikinis and Speedo’s. Actually, some people believe that the less you hide in summer, the better it is. Call me a silly American, but I still don’t get the whole ‘thong’ thing.
So, since summer is here and the winter clothes are neatly stored in the back of the closet, why not air out those places where the layers covered and protected. Take the time to throw out any grudge or resentment you may have with the rest of the things in your spring-cleaning pile. Love the person that you truly are and only cover up those things that will get you arrested. If the flowers can bloom whether we give them attention or not, then you also can bloom and flourish under the bright blue sky, basking in the radiant smile of the golden god of summer. Enjoy this summer; you can always get new grudges just in time for winter if it will make you feel any better.
Robert Moore is a personal life coach and a counselor. He can be reached at giantrevolution@yahoo.com. Revolution Life Coaching: Every Revolution Starts From Within.