In 2008 a man sat in a Human Art class. He was a well-established professional. Prior to the class he had always wanted to be like the popular quarterback type; bigger, muscular, and driven by that “fix it” mentality. This is a great goal if you are Blackened. The problem is, he isn’t Blackened, he is Saturated. He described himself as trying to be outdoorsy and trying to fit in that way.

After experiencing the class he made the statement, “I know who I am.  I am Saturated. I don’t need to try to be Blackened anymore and I will no longer compare myself to that. I am not that and I will never be that.” The beauty in that is that he learned about being predominantly Saturated and he loved it. He related to it. He said, “I will no longer apologize for who I am.”

In another instance, in the early 1980’s a client came into Human Art and didn’t believe she was beautiful. She was Blackened but her husband was Saturated. She found him so attractive that she wanted to be that same form of attractiveness. When we taught her about the Blackened design combined with a little Grayed-a glaze of refinement overlaying that beautifully natural Blackened design that she was-she fell in love with herself in an authentic way. I will never forget her telling us with tears in her eyes about the first time embracing that personality she felt like the most beautiful women in the room. It was life changing.

Working a few years ago with a family that all had logical designs, one of the girls in the family was Whitened. she had some Saturation as well but you always noticed the Whitened in her interactions with others. She was engaging and enrolling. She had this childlike way of adding lightness to the room with her spontaneity. In this family structure she was ridiculed. Not by the other family members but on inside. She was cruel to herself and spent most of her time alone ridiculing herself for not being more logical and linear. When she learned the value of her personality traits and used them in a healthy way, without comparing, she began to shine. Her efficacy improved and most important she started settling into self-love.

Why do I bring these up? In today’s world we are in a battle. a battle of contention. It seems to be all around us. You channel surf on tv and you find it. You listen to conversations on social media, you will find it. Trying to navigate social issues, there it is. The great thing about humans is they are inherently good. They are decent. We just all want to find our worth and we will go to great lengths to find it.

The solution is to inner source that peace. We all want to find significance and it starts with finding our value for ourselves. We need to know ourselves and who we are to quiet our inner contention or struggle. We can then come from that place of security to turn to others and celebrate them and their design, which is probably different from ours.

So start with your own self esteem. Find things you value in yourself and evaluate the beauty of that particular trait. Settle that contention in our own self. Love who you are first, then go out and love others.

And remember everyone is a masterpiece.

-Brook