Rumi says, “With us the name of everything is its outward appearance; with the Creator, the name of each thing is its inward reality.” – From The Rumi Collection, edited by Kabir Helminski, published by Shambhala Publications, Inc.

How shallow it seems to be named based on outward appearances, for appearances are illusionary and not real. What is real is eternal and internal, the essence of a thing.

I may be named Joyce, woman, female, business person, singer, volunteer, friend, lover, wife, and much more. But what it really comes down to – the reality – is my essence, the real me. And, that is I am a holy child of God. My inward being is love, peace, joy.