Life is an Onion

Dear Friend,

The other day the two of us had the following conversation over IM:

Kylie: omg a world without *********.
Catherine: omg what if we jump worlds.
Kylie: what.
Catherine: Like time travel to different worlds. Like what if there are other dimensions?
Kylie: OH like a parallel universe? I follow. Like an onion.
Catherine: yes yes
Kylie: Like a really big onion.

So here we are. Trying explain to you, dear reader, how your world is like a really big onion. This is the first of a series of "Life is" posts, in which we will use convoluted metaphors to explain our thoughts.

Each person has their own life. Similarly, each person has their own world, and they are the center of it. This might seem selfish, but we are all the centers of our own worlds because if you think about it, everything happens around us. Your personal world is an onion. Each layer represents different things. Those closest to the center are those things which are most important to you: your family, your closest friends, your religion perhaps. The outer layers are the dried up, nasty layers. These are the layers of regrets, negative thoughts, etc. This is why the outside of your life onion is crusty.

The problem is, sometimes we get our layers mixed up. We begin to deviate from the center of our onion as the edges pull us farther to them. This happens by dwelling on the past, or hanging on to people who aren't good for us. Consequentially we get pulled from our true friends and values. The things closest to the center of our life onion are easy to see, as those layers have the smallest surface area. However, the outer layers have a huge surface area, which is why they wrongly take up much of our head space and time. When we give attention to these layers, we get pulled farther from the core, and we actually expand the bad layers.

In order to return to the center of the onion, we need to do one of two things. The first is to push back through the layers of negativity. This can be done, but, similarly to a real onion, this will cause tears because it is not always easy and the layers will still remain, pulling you back. The second option is to just cut away the bad layers. This will also cause tears, but it will decrease the size of the onion, which will bring you closer to the center and make it easier to stay there. As soon as we begin to pile on more and more layers, life gets more complicated.

We can always add or subtract layers. This is where the parallel universe phenomenon comes in. If you are living out on the farthest layer of your life onion, you are probably not a very happy human being. However if you strip away the outer layers, you will become a healthier, more well rounded and generally awesome person. No time travel needed, just some layer jumping. If you think about it, it actually makes sense.

We hope that you enjoyed the first installment of "Life is..." posts. Stay tuned for more in the future! Comment or tell us in person what you think we should compare life to. We are always up for a challenge.

If you want to know where your heart is, look to where your mind goes when it wanders.

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine