Skin

Listen to me
 I want to tell you something
 I want you to sit back, close your eyes and think about this:
 I want you to look at this thing we do
 this living
 and the vast complicated world we live in
 and the joy and suffering we experience
 the victories, the losses, the fear, the love
 there's so much to learn
 and we're just too short on time
 and we're too short on knowledge
 think of your skin
 in our skin it's too easy to feel how small and insignificant we are
 I want to tell you what I've learned about skin
 who we are within and without of this skin
 I want to tell you about the blessing and the beauty of skin
 the curse and the crime of it
 let me tell you what I know about the secret of skin:
 skin is a roadmap of our lives
 every freckle is a footprint
 and every scar is a snapshot of a point along our journey
 our skin is unique to us
 its colour and scent
 its solace and safety
 think about the dips, the valleys and the pleasures of it
 in giving, in receiving and knowing
 but we think our skin separates us from each other and from god
 in our darker moments we fear that this shell that holds our spirits is also our prison
 if we can't understand the secret of skin we're just like a dog who's only known a short rope
 and we sniff the air around our small worlds and snarl at those who walk too close
 in the confines of this, our skin, we forget who we are and think we're something we're not:
 alone
 separate
 isolated
 but we're not alone
 we're part of each other
 we're part of the world, the universe and beyond
 within us, without us and through us, we belong
 so if there's one thing we need to know and only one thing
 please believe this:
 we are here for a purpose
 know that you are here for a reason
 know that you have a right to be here
 you have a right to belong
 you have a right to speak, to breathe, to sing, to pray, to cry, to love, to shout out your hope and despair
 to reach out to others, to give, to receive, to know:
 there is a beauty in you
 a beauty that is unique only to you
 and that you have gifts to offer this world that no one else has
 that you have a light within yourself that shines as bright as any star
 and know that if you remove yourself from this, the whole
 we all become that much smaller
 so celebrate the skin
 celebrate yourself
 celebrate the world
 know that your skin is here to allow you to feel the hands you reach out to hold