Discovering your inner beauty.

   As of recent, my family and I have been afforded the opportunity to enjoy an odd winter with warmer weather. Because of this, we decided to take an impromptu family trip out into the desert and go looking for geodes at a nearby geode bed.
    We got to discover old historic locations of western Utah that we had never seen before, and when we finally arrived at the location of the Geode beds, what we came upon to me appeared to be that of the remnants of an old rock quarry. To say the least, I was a bit shocked at what we came upon. However, I decided that I needed to look on the bright side and make the best out of the opportunity. I was away from the house, I was away from work, I was spending quality time with my family, and we were all getting to experience something new together.
    We got our buckets, our digging utensils and we got to work. Digging for geodes isn't really all that difficult. However, if you want some of the nicer, more ornate geodes, you have to really work for them. Not only are you digging through compacted sand, but compacted rocks, trying to figure out which rocks are just rocks, and which ones will have a geode in them. But you are also having to try and find different colored geodes aside from the ones you have previously dug up over and over again.
    Once, we dug up the rocks that we thought were geodes, and had our buckets full, we then took the rocks home. Then we washed off the residual dirt that they were encrusted in, and then got to hammering them w/ a flat head screwdriver to break them open. That is where the true beauty of these geodes came forth. Each one had a different coloring on the inside. Each one possessed a different marking, and each one, in it's own unique way contained it's own beauty. That is where the reward from all the arduous work came from. To see the true beauty of what was inside of that dirt encrusted, hardened outer shell rock.
     So, how does this all apply to what I normally talk about... weight lifting, dieting, goals, etc etc? Well it's rather quite simple if you think about it. All of us have some kind of outer, hardened shell. In order to see the true beauty that not only do we find for ourselves that we possess on the inside, but for others to see as well, we must work hard to get to that point. Much like the digging, and the cleaning, and the hammering away the facade of the rock was the work, so too must we work to chisel away the hardened exterior,  and work to bring out the inner beauty to show to everyone. With dieting, we must break the exterior of our old eating habits, and lack of exercise. Whether we want to get into shape, or be healthier, or just be able to do more than we currently are, we must work for it.
      It is my opinion, that in this experience of digging for geodes, it was very symbolic of the work that myself, and others before me and after me have experienced and will experience. Through all the hard work, the determination of getting to the geode, and then scraping away the rusty, dirty exterior; then was the true beauty able to come forth. When it comes to dieting and fitness, no reward is paid off by taking the easy road. It's hard work, it will continue to be hard work, and only then when we get to the core, will we finally be rewarded with the end result.
       It is my belief that we each possess an inner beauty that is just waiting to be shown to our friends, our family, and the rest of the world. It may not be in physical form, but regardless, we each have something to show and give to another to make our beauty resonate loudly into another person's life. What matters individually, is just how much hard work are we willing to exert to find it.