eggs, beautiful, farm fresh eggs 345/366

I have friends that raise laying hens

that means they raise hens that lay eggs for us to eat,

not that they raise lazy chickens

last evening we were given a dozen plus a dozen and a half

the one in the top left corner was not one of the ones we were given-

it is store bought, more about that later

will you take a minute to really look at these 30 eggs?

pay attention to the different shades, compare the intensities of color

isn't it amazing how varied they are, yet they are the same?

as different as all the eggs look,  

they have similarities

each one has a shell that holds and protects what's inside

what's inside of each egg is what's important

if they are dropped, or mishandled, they may crack or break completely

that's why there is one store bought odd ball in the top left corner

when I picked up my coat that was laying on top of the eggs so I wouldn't forget them

the container of 12 eggs got flipped upside down and hit the floor

same trauma for all of them,

but different outcomes 

10 eggs were not affected

one cracked

one cracked really bad and I had to throw it away

what's maybe more amazing 

is that when you crack the shell, 

they are all the same inside

I eat two every morning 

(that's bacon crumbled on top) 

and even though two of the eggs 

are significantly larger than all the others-

like supersized larger- (poor hen)-

and their shells are "wrinkled", 

they are still all eggs

some of you who know me well may have guessed where I am headed,

that this post isn't really about eggs at all,

you see, for the last 24 hours my mind has gone back to these 31 eggs

and how people are like eggs

we have a shell that holds us together and protects what's inside

we are all different shades and sizes and some have wrinkles

trauma that hits a group will not affect everyone the same

and oh how I long for the day when people, 

all people, 

are recognized and valued for what they are, 

from the inside out