Digging

I'm digging a hole....
A very deep hole . 
It's a hole into the hurts of my past.
I've been digging for a long time and the hole is deep and wide.
As I've been digging I've found many bits of junk
that I really don't want.
I've thrown them out of the hole and I don't want to see them again!
But as I found this junk, I understood how the bad bits were important to making the whole.

As well as the junk, I have often found treasures in the hole....
and these have been carefully cleaned, polished and studied. 
These treasures will be kept within easy reach
so that I can look at them often.
And I'll show the treasures to other people who are digging their own holes.
.... and we can share the stories.

Sometimes my digging has been done with a shovel.... slow and meticulous. 
At other times I've borrowed an excavator.... and the digging has been quick with amazing results. 
But at other times I've dug with a teaspoon..... it's been agonizing and hard.
But through it all I've kept on digging. Don't stop digging!

Where will this all finish?  How deep will the hole be?
I don't know.  I guess it might be that one day I stand back and say
"That's enough!" .... there might be an end to the stuff that I'm digging.....
or the hole might have become something of value in itself.....
or the hole might have become a lesson for other diggers....
But for now I'll keep digging.

It might end up that I've dug a foundation for some new structure.....
or I might use the hole to bury something that deserves to be hidden....
Regardless of what the hole was..... or what the hole is.....
or what the hole will become....
Just KEEP ON DIGGING.

© Ian Croft January 2019