Inspiration comes from the most random places sometimes.  For me it came from a rock, while I was beachcombing recently.  Many rocks comprise the earth – each varying in shape, size, and colour – all beautiful in their own way.  The rock that I found that day was in the shape of a heart and I had to pick it up and keep it for my collection. (see it below)

I have always been fascinated by rocks – to the point that my friends and I even started a “rock club” in elementary school.  To this day, I have a rock jar that consists of beautiful rocks from the various beaches I have been to; each was associated with a great memory.  Every time I look at the jar, I think of happiness and the lessons learned. Many individuals view rocks as a source of strength, but they also have deeper meaning for me.  They are symbolic of being solid as they are resistant to damage and hard to break.  You may have heard of the terms “rock solid” or “solid as a rock”. However, when the rocks are broken; true beauty is exposed. 

I discovered from an early age that some of the prettiest jewels come from the inside of rocks. Where I grew up, there was a wonderful museum that had a very large rock exhibit – they had cross sections of rocks (aka geodes) which displayed what was on the inside (i.e., the finest jewels).  If you only saw the outer shell, would it even cross your mind that there was something exceptionally beautiful on the inside?

It was then that my fascination with digging deep in life began.  It caused me to question looking beyond the surface in every element of my life. I think it’s important to be strong like a rock but there needs to be a “fracturing” or breakthrough to show your vulnerability or most inner core. This lesson is so important in relationships as the most precious ones are when you connect with the other person at a very deep level.

As Aidan Donnelly Rowley so eloquently commented in a past post of mine, “We are trained to appear a certain way, to mask as you say, and it takes real effort and work to remove that mask. But it’s worth the effort; only when we are real can we truly connect with others and live well and honestly.”

I got the strength to take off my mask permanently after an interesting conversation with a friend several years ago. We had known each other for a number of years, yet we only talked about “safe” topics. However, I had been craving the need for a deeper friendship. During the conversation, my friend brought up how I was a “frustrating friend,” as I only talked about superficial topics; so, the friend had lost interest in our friendship.

Throughout our friendship, we had both gone through hardships, yet we did not share with each other. While I had thought I was authentic, I had a hard time being vulnerable and letting others (even in this case, one of my closest friends) know what’s going on in my heart. To become a better friend, I learned to open up and to be vulnerable to others. I think it’s important to get people talking about what is going on in their lives. Life is not meant to go through alone. Odds are, others are undergoing similar things.

Therefore, since I learned so much from looking at the rock on the beach, I thought I’d ask you to get involved as well. I’m asking you to share a lesson/story about digging deep or being solid as a rock.  I’m calling it The “You Rock” Project. One of my common expressions is to tell someone, “You Rock!” so I thought it was the perfect name for the project.

You can get involved in many ways:

1) Share a photo of a rock on my Facebook Page and describe why you think digging deep is important.

2) You can comment on this post with either a lesson or a story or both explaning why this is important.

3) You can do both 1 and 2.

Looking forward to hearing what you have to say and seeing your photos! Remember, YOU ROCK!

See you at the beach!