Neil Rees (in Costa Calida Chronicle, September 2024)
I do not mean to insult you, call you a veggie or imply that you make people cry. It is to do with who we are or rather how we should view ourselves.
An onion is made up of the sum total of all its layers. Without its layers, it doesn’t exist.
We are made up of the sum total of all our life’s experiences, both good and bad. You can’t erase history and you can’t predict your future. As we live our lives, we experience different events. How we deal with these events shapes the kind of person that we are to become.
If we learn from our mistakes or bad experiences then that layer will always serve as a reminder of what not to do.
You will then continue to grow and add good layers. Hopefully, more good layers than bad. The bad layer becomes a layer of wisdom. If you don’t learn from your bad experiences, then you may have more bad layers than good and your growth as a human being will most likely be stunted. That is why there are some adults whom we would classify as ‘never having grown up’.
The more layers you add to your onion the more mature and rounded person you will be. If you have dealt with those layers in a positive way, you may find that you will more likely be able to find peace and contentment. If you try to strip away the layers that you don’t like, you will be at war with yourself.
People go to a therapist hoping the therapist will help them get rid of the bad layers. Therapists are trying to get you to deal with the bad layers in order for you to continue growing the good layers. You’re wasting your time and money if you can’t accept all layers that make up who you are. You can travel the world to find yourself, but all you are doing is adding another layer.
Accept that you are an onion and God loves the whole onion!