My Private Hell

When we meet someone, see their

Exterior, watch their behavior

Assumptions are made

About who they are as a person

As if we know them in some deep Way.

This leads to a relationship being formed that

May or may not be true.

But did we take the time to listen, to hear

the cry inside, hear the story

from start to finish

to understand what

makes them a unique individual.

Do we see the scars on their heart,

The wrinkles on their face

And the origins of such.

I wonder what kind of world we would live in,

If we took the time to

BE with another person,

Just as they are,

Not from the lens of who we are.

True love occurs in an authentic union,

Honesty, acceptance and

Understanding.

It is easy to love when we truly know another

In the deepest of manners.

It all makes sense then,

And the struggle is gone,

Forever.

Take the time to be a friend or a Lover

It is our deepest need

And satisfies the Soul

In a way nothing else is able to.

             ~Lori  Ellis-McKinney  (2014)