Lionize

lionize • \LYE-uh-nyze\ • verb

*1 : to treat as an object of great interest or importance

2 Brit : to show the sights of a place to

Take a moment and look around your home or office. What do you see? Is it an object that you received as a gift, which catches your eye and makes you think of relaxing times? Is it the old book from your grandfather's collection which reminds you of how he smelled, felt or looked the last time you saw him? What is it that captivates you in a way that no other item can?

For me the item is simple, an old family bible too big to read from, fathered, with browned pages that curl on the ends. This old family heirloom, reminds me of all the things I hold near and dear. It reminds me of all the things I long to still achieve. It has a value long surpassed by its sticker price. It is a part of me.

I look at the yellowed cover and browned pages nearly withered away from the years it spent on the living room shelf of my grandparents house, then my parents home, and now mine. Yes, in this bible I have memories that are immeasurable in comparison to any other item of it's kind along my self. This bible has been lionized as the staple of our family. A symbol for where we have been and where we are yet to go.

I find comfort in it. I find inspiration in the lionization of such a memento, and envy the way it can stand for so much while being so small. I want to be lionized like that bible. I want to the one that others look at as incomparable to others. I want to be the person who stands on her own to feet and makes a difference for those who can not stand for themselves.

We should all be lionized in the view of others, for each of us has qualities and abilities that are uniqu to only us. We shall be lionized, not by those who look down upon us, but rather by those who have yet to know us. To be beyond compare. To be free to stand tall, full of beauty and strength. To be remembered for more then just the mistakes that we have made, but for the genuine love we have for others. To know that we are important to others, understanding the meaning of that importance comes from inside each of us. To be judged but not adjudicated.

I find inspiration in the word lionize for its solidarity to the meaning of what each of us has longed for and the determination if gives us to fight for it. I may never publish another novel, write another blog, or complete another trial balance, but I shall always be lionized for the unsurpassed achievements which are mine alone and can never be taken away from me. So I pose the question? What will you be lionized for?