The World Hardens us

Recently, I walked back from the gondola after an early morning walk, and I found myself thinking about how this world hardens us.

We enter this world so pure. So open. So trusting. We are naturally kind, curious, loving, and full of light. Yet somewhere along the way, many of us become guarded. The experiences we have, the hurt we carry, the disappointments we face, and the stories we tell ourselves slowly build a protective shell around our hearts.

I look at our daughter, Nia, and I see that beautiful innocence. She is kind, loving, forgiving, and accepting. My greatest hope is that she never loses those qualities because of what happens around her. Those qualities are who she truly is.

I know I have changed because of my own past.

There are parts of myself I don't like. I don't like the version of me that becomes withdrawn or unkind. It doesn't feel good to me, and I know it doesn't feel good to the people around me either. But when I reflect honestly, I realise those behaviours didn't appear out of nowhere. They became coping mechanisms. They were ways of protecting a heart that no longer felt safe or supported.

Protection can be useful for a while, but eventually it becomes a prison.

As I reflected, I was reminded of the story of the Golden Buddha. To protect it from invading armies, monks covered the solid gold statue with layers of mud and plaster until it looked ordinary. Years later, the true treasure underneath was rediscovered.

I wonder if we're not so different.

Life covers us with layers of fear, disappointment, anger, resentment, and self-protection. From the outside we can appear hard, rigid, or distant. But beneath every layer is still the same heart that arrived in this world—loving, worthy, and whole.

The challenge isn't becoming someone new.

The challenge is uncovering who we've always been.

So how do we begin to let go of those protective layers?

Perhaps the answer is forgiveness.

Forgiveness isn't about saying what happened was okay. It's about releasing the weight we've been carrying. It's choosing not to let past experiences continue to define who we become.

There are people I need to forgive. There are situations I need to release. There are even parts of myself that deserve compassion and forgiveness.

Maybe every act of forgiveness removes another layer of hardened mud from around our hearts.

Maybe healing isn't about fixing ourselves.

Maybe it's simply remembering the gold that has been there all along.