The special box arrived with mushroom varieties hand-selected at the farm. I never know what the selection will be. I know these are the best mushrooms I have ever had. The difference is profound. One first notices it with the smell, the freshness is a direct contrast to the mustiness that I am used to with normal grocery store options. Then there is the texture, each variety with a unique signature. If these differences were not enough, the unique experience redefines what a mushroom should taste like.
There are lots of options on how I can use the different mushroom personas in cooking. As I consider how I will use them, I find myself thinking of the personas in my life. With each, as I close my mind, I can see a face. The personas have a unique name, linked, if only for a time, to an individual that is known by the name given to them when they were starting their lives. I find myself wondering what personas have been attached to my face and name. Whatever it was, today will be another chapter in revealing what my personas are now.
We are uniquely defined by our thoughts, words, and actions. Our personas are an outcome that is first seen and understood by others. It can be hard to see ourselves in the mirror. It is not that the mirror misleads. Rather, I find myself looking in the mirror, reflecting, and seeing what I aspire to be. In the idealistic view, the truth often remains quietly hidden. Opportunities to grow are born when I can step beyond the fiction and see the truth, no matter how dark this might be.
Diversity is a strength, especially when it is accepted, embraced, and respected. One author observed, “Regarding angels he says, the messengers are winds, the servants are tongues of fire.” (Hebrews 1.7). We need our differences. Each is blinded by what s/he cannot see. It is in our willingness to see the value in others that we discover the ultimate value within every heart and soul.
