Advice on Making Pearls

advice on making pearls
stop asking why you were chosen for the pain you feel.
you just were.
you are both blessed and cursed because of this.
who cares?
pray that you are chosen. revel in this. and
if you are happy and you know it…pray for some sadness.
it will do you good.
okay, so you like the shiny stuff. you like the value in it.
ask the oyster what it took to make that shiny stuff. ask the oyster
how it made that shiny stuff. convince the oyster that she is valuable because she can make that shiny stuff.
for you.
but if you say some *** like that, be prepared to run, because
that oyster will turn into a giant black man who is still pissed off about his ancestors who were stolen from Africa, then forced into slavery.
only to be reminded, (ad nauseum), by the sons (of b**es)
and daughters (of former slave owners)
how strong he and his people are.

forget that. we all have pain. ugly, festering, puss-filled pain.
and that’s just the beginning of the rainbow. if you mix that pain with some grit and wisdom and tears and incredulity and years and prayers and a few shouts of ‘i-will-not-die-here’
hell, you might be surprised --
that shiny stuff was always within you, too.
but once you create that shiny stuff, there is one final task.
get it out. i’ll say it again: get. it. out.
your value does not lie in holding the secret.
it lies in the sharing.
2/7/2014