Grace

I reached into the velvet bag and pulled out a glass stone. The decorative stone was a pretty light blue with streaks of silver. Turning the smooth, cool stone over, I read the word. Grace. Closing my eyes and tried to think through my answer to the next instruction. Opening my eyes, I gazed at the rock and said, “when I was younger, I thought grace was being elegant, and always put together; not having a hair out of place and being tastefully dressed and accessorized. Bangle bracelets were graceful to me because back then all the women I admired wore them, and their bracelets delicately tinkled when they moved. Now that I’m older, grace means walking through the world with a sense of empathy and understanding toward others. It means remembering that pain is universal, but everyone responds to pain differently. So when I go through my day, I need to have grace and remember that everyone I meet is dealing with something, trying to heal. I should try to engage with people with that in mind and not take every real or perceived slight personal.
Being graceful means I have the ability to endure but remain human–strong yet vulnerable. It means I do not share my own pain and frustrations by yelling at or arguing with people who do not deserve it. More importantly, being graceful means having the ability to see the beauty in dark situations and spread a little peace in the world.”