What the Tokens Hold

Everyone sees only the versions of me I’m comfortable sharing—snapshots, not the film. Glimpses, not the whole.

This fragmentation once felt like failure. Now it inspires the tokens I create: some smooth on one side, rough on another.

Some that change completely when turned toward the light.

Each carries a different facet of self … an acknowledgment that we are all kaleidoscopes rather than photographs.

When I place a little token of gratitude in someone’s hand, I’m saying: I don’t have to see all of you to make a meaningful connection with you.

Your complexity is what makes you beautiful.

Your contradictions are not flaws to fix.

These small objects become permission slips for partial revelation, for authentic connection without complete exposure.

They honor the courage it takes to share even one true piece of ourselves with another.

And sometimes, that is enough.

Sometimes, that is everything.