Growing up as I did, I had to become a master of delusion.
And a master I was.
I managed to convince myself I was happy, normal, thriving, even exceptional at times.
But, as with everything in life, it ends.
That day came when the delusion hit me square in the face and I found myself staring at a naked stranger in the mirror.
So what’s to be done?
Face my naked self?
See life as it is for the first time…stare the ugly in the face and see beyond it?
Reach into that mirrored heart and grab that frightened, yearning, amazingly loving, little girl and give her a chance?
That would be a most difficult, utterly terrifying path. Yet a fine one indeed. A healing thing, a healthy thing, a loving thing to do.
Or…how about exchanging the delusion; that umbrella of fantasy under which life was so real as to be believed; for one of illusion.
I know it won’t be entirely real; just enough to convince me that I can be happy. No longer deluded, yet not quite ready to face the ugliness in the mirror. Not quite strong enough to bring her out into the open to face the fact that life is not fair; life is not pretty; life is not forgiving…it’s just life.
So illusion it was…for a time anyway.
But…as all things in life do, this too did end.
An even more painful death than the delusion.
The delusion took my face and smashed it into my mirror.
The illusion died slowly, with tiny little blows that wounded me a piece at a time.
With it’s whispered ‘I love you but…”
And it’s well intended, but still misguided “You’re too good for me…”
The true shield behind which the illusions spew forth “It’s not you, it’s me…”
And the fatal blows to the heart “I’ll always love you…”
a & f
The delusion?
That my damaged soul and wounded heart could find love and peace, inside or out, anywhere but in my own heart.
It’s not possible without facing the naked truth that no matter how much I love another, it won’t last until I love myself enough to see beyond the mirror.
a & f
The Illusion?
That my damaged soul could tell the difference between what’s whole, what’s honest, what’s without fear, and what’s my illusion.
To realize true happiness and true love I must stand naked and fearless in front of that mirror.
And besides my own, the eyes of the one I love are the truest mirror I’ll ever face.
If I’m willing to see it, the reflection will be one of truth. My truth and his.
Stark naked, no illusion.
I’ll see trust, kindness, inner beauty, desire, love without qualification, and acceptance of who and what we both are…in all that naked glory…or I’ll see nothing.
If I see doubt, fear, unease, tempered or guarded emotions, and conditional love…from either of us….I’ll run.
♥ The delusion is dead.
∞ The illusion is dead.
Life is bare…
it promises nothing and offers only what you are willing to pay for
it is as ugly as it is beautiful…
it is as rich with humiliation and pain as it is with pleasure and joy…
but at least it’s now naked…
Now is the time for truth
50 Shades of Gray Hair 