The egg theory

"is this what you meant?"

Do you remember someone saying unkind words to you when you were young and a teacher or parenting telling you “sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you” ? For many of us, emotions were something that were meant to be bottle up, kept a lid on, and better off pushed aside than delved into. I can remember when my children were little asking them how they might feel if someone ignored them, didn’t include them, or said something that wasn’t nice about their clothes or toys. I wanted my children to be included and loved by all, I just wasn’t sure at what price. We were told to stand up straight and act as if we had a backbone, by us I mean the sensitives in the group. Those of us that leaned on people pleasing, and did just about anything to avoid a confrontation. I think I even believed that most were just better than me and more deserving of the “good stuff” life seemed to be only able to dish up for a certain few.

Someone compared the future of my love to having to break my shell wide open, like an egg. Basically they said in order to love fully, you have to start all over again. You can’t bring your yolk with you into the future, so you might as well scramble it up and fry it up in a pan and let it be eaten. Well, maybe I added that last part. To truly love and be loved, you’ve got to let your under belly show. Can you be guarded and fully give and receive life changing love? I’m learning the hard way, the answer has to be no. I’ve been thinking about the analogy of my heart being an egg since yesterday. I even googled the meaning of it to see if the person who said it had borrowed the premise. I couldn’t find any direct correlations but what I hit upon was a short story titled, The Egg by Andy Weir.

This is where my story gets a bit weird. I searched for The Egg while I was doing some writing this morning. I found a video and paused and then pressed play. The story is about a father who tragically passes in a car accident and finds himself having a conversation with God about what is going to happen next. I know what you are all thinking, it’s just a short story. I told myself the same thing especially when the story fell deeper into the premise of reincarnation and the purpose of our existence in the Universe. It had me at this point. Isn’t this what we are all searching for, the answer to why each of us are here? A multitude of conversations I have been having with different people lately was suddenly converging within the lines of a brilliantly written short story aptly called, The Egg. I’ve been thinking about how do we value ourselves as individuals among a larger group, is it by money, kindness, productivity, beauty, or genetics. I’ve been wondering if I’m going to have to come back to this Earthly plain after I pass and will I be able to stomach another turn around, and probably more to the heart of the matter why is it we think we cause ill intent on individuals or entire communities without out it having any negative impact on ourselves?

I believe in signs, I always have. I believe that the analogy of the egg told to me in the pool by a stranger was also meant to lead me to Andy Weir’s short story to consider more carefully why I am here, why we are all here. Look to your left, and then to your right, imagine why the individuals currently taking up time and space in your life might be there. What is it that they are reflecting back to you that could offer a clue as to what you may need to do or become in order to feel more present, wanting to live a great life, and choosing to show up fully each day. If you find yourself alone, I don’t believe it is a bad thing. I’ve done some of my best growing during times I had to lean on myself to dig out of a hole I dug. A big buzz word/idea right now is whether or not someone can be labeled as an Empath. Imagine that being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes has become considered a gift and not just an ability we all possess. Each of us feel pain, we exude joy and excitement, and our toes tingle when we fall in love. Why is it so hard to consider that our neighbor may be feeling the same way we do when they face challenges, meet a new partner, or spend time doing what they love.

If we could presume that as humans we are generally cut from the same cloth, then perhaps we might be able to begin to wonder what talking kindly to others who might not be in such a great spot would do to help turn the tide. Imagine that when we talk to others we are simply talking to our own reflections in the mirror. Our parents and grandparents also used to tell us to treat others how we want to be treated, I think this might be more important than perhaps we’ve imagined. If you have a few minutes consider reading the Egg, written by Andy Weir. If it’s hot where you are, this might offer a brief distraction from the heat. You’ll find a link to his website just below. You could also do what I did and google it on Youtube.

Thanks for meeting me here and wanting to see what we can see together.

jennifer ellen parker ( a writer in the making, aren’t we all?)

Andy Weir penned The Egg, a short story and published it on his website, Galactanet, on August 15, 2009. You can read it on his website, by clicking here.