Naked...

Have you ever stood naked in front of a mirror and critiqued your own aesthetic?  Where you turn to your right and your left.  Where you stand in attention and see how you can rectify every flaw.  What needs fixing...what flows just right.  Some realistically critique according to what God has naturally given them while others erroneously critique by comparing themselves to what they've see in a magazine or on television.  Most are afraid to do this because they usually hate what they see and they know exactly what it will take to fix it all.  It saddens me that most decide to put back on that cute dress that hides the tire they could diet and work down.  Or they put on that shirt that makes their shoulders look wider than they really are.  Shoulders that would take a good month of lateral raises to bring out.  They do this and are once again happy with themselves.  As though they never saw themselves naked.  A delusion most consider harmless but one I call a shadow delusion.  I try to never focus on the shadow of a thing but the substance.  In cases like these, if the substance is deluded the same way, it could very well mean that the soul is just as hidden as the body.  Facades I see growing daily...facades that tire me to no end.

Someone beautiful once said to me in passing as I was perusing celebrity women's photos..."Everyone looks good in clothes".

She really had no idea how profound that statement was.  It is a truth that passes the thresholds of the body into the soul.  I have always trained with the idea that one day I will be standing naked before "judgement".  In the eyes of God...but also before men.  I could never delude myself into believing that the clothes I look good in are enough to make me feel better about who I am underneath.  So I decide to stand (transparent) naked more times than not.  If you can't see the flaw, I will show you. So yes, train the outerman (shadow) with the purest intent.  Give all you have to the artistry found in its design but don't ever forget to train what is most important. Above all, train the innerman (substance) most will never see as that is the beauty that extends into all else.  That is what you share in breath. That is what you share in love.  It is what motivates you to create an outer design worthy of all you are becoming inside.  It's how we stand apart and unique...where the rarest beauty is found.  It is so precious that it cannot be shared without true purpose or merit.  Want to truly improve?  Do so naked...

My shadow is before you all...what of my substance?...what of yours? Much love...

~Moses Apollo