Me: Hey God.
God: Hey John.
Me: I'm about to break.
God: Why do you think that is?
Me: Because life just keeps getting harder.
God: Then you need to become softer.
Me: Huh?
God: Here is the thing:
glass is hard
but it can shatter
when dropped
rock is hard
but it can be broken
with a drill
gold is hard
but it can be melted
in a blazing fire
don't be so hard
that you break down so easily.
be soft
like wet clay
in the hands of a potter
be soft like
river water
in the summer
be soft like
the breeze through
a row of tall pines
all of those things
survive no matter what
happens to them
they endure because
they haven't built their
existence out of hard
materials
be soft with other people
don't break them
with your words
and don't let them
break you with theirs
be soft with yourself
your heart is more cotton
than iron
your soul is wrapped
in the softest of fabrics
for a reason
the softer you become
the more you understand
how precious all life is
be more of cotton
then you are of concrete
love isn't cold granite
love is shapeless
love is like ocean water
gently passing through your toes
in a world where the hardness of diamonds
helps determine its worth
don't become one yourself
become so soft
that nothing can
break you
- John Roedel -