Do You Want to Know a Secret? A Moment with Bill Reflection

Take my hand! Don’t be nervous, please, just slip your hand into mine.

Come, let’s walk!

I have no hidden agenda so please, relax. Just stroll with me while we talk.

I brought some props along, if you don’t mind. They should help me in delivering my message to you, and I hope you find them helpful.

Shall we begin?

Go ahead, take a good, long look.

What do you see and please, be honest, because I will know if you are anything less than. You see, I’ve heard your cries. I know how often you have looked in a similar mirror and anguished over your looks. The imperfections laugh at you, taunt you, scream for you to correct them. The blemishes, the wrinkles, the excess fat, they are all there reminding you that you are less than. The too-large nose, the soft chin, the dull eyes, you see them all and consider them to be your albatross, your cross to bear, and bear it you do, day in, day out, shouldering on, avoiding eye contact with others, avoiding eye contact with yourself, waking each day with the knowledge that you will never be one of the pretty people.

They are everywhere, aren’t they, the winners of the DNA lottery, with perfect skin, perfect bodies, perfect stature….my God, they are disgustingly beautiful and you aren’t one of them.

Yes, I have heard your cries, and I have one thing to say to you:

Do you want to know a secret?

I see you and I see beauty. I see you and I see perfection. I see you and I see a unique human being, the only you out of seven-point-two billion, and that makes you the rarest gem on this planet.

I see a dazzling, eye-popping, jaw-dropping, gorgeous human being.

Look closer!

See you through my eyes.

Yes, it is. That little child is you. Do you remember her? Do you remember the dreams she had as she frolicked in the fields of lavender? Can you recall the confidence she had as she climbed trees and looked out over the land, a land that would soon be hers to conquer?

Your parents whispered to you at night, telling you that a wondrous life was ahead, and you believed them, for parents never lie, and you went off into the world expecting those dreams to become reality.

But when they didn’t materialize…when they didn’t actualize….when you didn’t realize….them…you lowered your standards. You began to dream less-grand dreams, and when they failed you sunk lower, and then the harsh winds of reality blew through your early adulthood, and tragedy stuck, and disappointment reared its ugly head and today you stand here, pole-axed alongside the head with no dreams, no view of the future, just one foot in front of the other until you reach the inevitable truth: dreams don’t come true.

Do you want to know a secret?

I look at that photo, at the same child you are looking at, and I see a child who is now an adult, and yes, that adult has taken some broadside hits, but she isn’t dead and that means strap on some big-girl panties and get to work.

Do you want to know my truth?

Dreams do come true!

Of course we adjust our dreams. You may never become that famous ballerina or opera singer. You may never meet Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset on a white steed, but just remember that even white steeds defecate, and even Prince Charmings have warts, so move on to another dream and go for it with gusto. Remember that human beings are meant to dream. It’s as natural as breathing in and breathing out. We need dreams. We need to have goals and we need desires. To have none of that is to barely exist, and you are better than that.

The past is gone. All we are concerned with is today, and that young girl in the photograph has some very good today's remaining. Don’t you think it’s about time she dreams a whopper again?

Yes, that’s your footprint. What say you? What? It’s not as large as you once hoped for? In fact, it is quite small, you say?

Remember when we were young? We were going to set the world on fire. We were going to make a name for ourselves, dazzle millions with our brilliance, become a household name through our actions and oh, how wondrous it all would be. Others would look at us in awe, and try to emulate our every move. We would be praised for the good we had done, and nary a negative word would ever be spoken about us.

Sigh!

You look at that footprint now and wonder how it all went so wrong. You look at it and think just how insignificant you are, and if you are insignificant now, after decades of failed attempts, well what does the future hold? Not a cheery thought, eh?

Do you want to know a secret?

You ain’t done, my friend. Raise your leg and stomp on the ground. Make sure you hit your footprint dead on. Go ahead, do as I say, stomp on it!

See what happened? The force of your stomp expanded your previous footprint and now, Lord be praised, it is larger. Do you understand? Is not the message clear? As long as you apply force, your footprint will expand. As long as you refuse to tiptoe through life but rather romp with gusto, your footprint will become what it was always meant to become.

What do you see?

You see a wilted flower, drooping, flaccid, and barely hanging on.

The flower is you. That flower represents opportunities wasted, plans crushed and hopes fallen by the wayside of life. You know it, I know it, and anyone who has been in contact with you knows it. I know what you are thinking. You had your chance, you blew it big-time, and that’s all there is. From now on you will embrace the mundane because really, why bother trying when you’ve screwed the pooch so many times in the past?

Do you want to know a secret?

Take that flower, add water, fertilize, and life will return. The pedals will unfold. The stem will reach higher and the sun will be embraced. Where once there was wilting indifference there will be a wondrous display of vibrant colors. Those vibrant colors are you. Man was not meant to live in a grey world. Man was born a peacock, a dazzling display of hues, and your hues have remained muted for far too long.

As long as you can draw a breath, there is hope. As long as you can dream, there is a reason for living. Leave the black and white world, spread your pedals, and show the world what you’re made of.

I think you are perfect.

I think you are beautiful and unique.

I think the world has just seen a small fraction of who you really are, and I think it’s about damned time you spread your plumage and rediscover yourself. It matters not to me if you’ve been abused, raped, ridiculed or bullied. I don’t care if you’ve gone decades without receiving the support and affirmation you so desperately needed. Too fat, too skinny, too shy, too ugly, none of that matters. It ends today. I will be your support. I will be your affirmation.

Reach out and take my hand.

Unlimited possibilities are as real today as they were when you were a child. The beauty within is what counts. The desire to achieve flows through your veins. You are an unstoppable force that for too long has been held back by your own self-doubts and self-loathing.

It ends today!

I believe in you!

Will you join me in that belief?

2015 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)