Photo by Walter Babinski, My American Husband
“The wound is the place where the Light enters” Rumi
There comes a time in most every life when our apple cart is upset, dumped over, or even smashed to smithereens. Seems we are just rolling along minding our own business when out of nowhere something HUGE and HORRIBLE comes along and scatters us all over the place. Could be a relationship falls apart, or a job is lost, or somebody dies, and we are forced to go through something that was not in our plans, at all. Our quiet little life is shaken to its core and we are broken open.
Why do these bad things happen to good people? Can’t we just live our quiet little lives without this drama and mayhem?
It seems that we have come to this earth school to learn certain lessons and when we get ourselves trapped into the rut of a mundane existence, sleepwalking through life, the Universe tends to give us a kick in the pants and help us to get back on the right track. The only constant in life is change. Nothing stays the same. We grow and move along and learn and when things stagnate, we get a shove to help us get moving again.
Change cracks us open. We judge changes, especially the dramatic ones, as traumatic or hard or bad, but in reality they are the challenges we need to shake us from our stupor and help us to expand our souls. To truly live we must experience all of the emotions, not just the ones that feel “good”.
There is a Japanese practice called Kintsugi that when a piece of pottery has been broken, instead of discarding it the cracks are filled with gold. The resulting designs are considered to hold much greater beauty than the original pieces. By highlighting the cracks that life brings us we honor our journey. The HUGE and HORRIBLE things that life sends are the challenges that make us expand and as such can be viewed as beautiful and worth cherishing. To be able to feel truly thankful for all of it, good, bad and ugly, we fill in our own cracks with gold and become the living beauty that is our journey.
In my life I have been broken open and had long stretches where all I would see were the jagged cracks. But eventually I would begin to see the light streaming in. Once I focused on the beauty of the newly crafted me I have even been able to fill some of those cracks with gratitude, which is pure gold. Some of my cracks are not visible and some show up in the silver threading my hair, the lines etching my skin, but in the best light, they too can look like gold. I am a product of all that I have been through, good, bad and ugly. I know there are lessons to learn each day and I turn my intentions to learning through joyful whispers instead of angry shouts.
When I find that I have lost my mindfulness, I say a prayer I heard Oprah once say: “Please don’t teach me nothing new today”. And then I listen for the whispers. Hey, I’m not crazy. I would much rather polish the gold than endure new cracks.
pieces of me 
Lovely closing thought. 🙂 And to light, it’s always present; we simply need to invite and embrace the illumination – even when it seems unintended for us.
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I agree with you completely, Eric. Part of my journey has been to discover that very thing. Thank you for your kind words.
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Just what I needed to read today – thanks!
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Wow! I am so glad to hear that. Thank you 🙂
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Oh, Brenda, haven’t we all taken this dappled journey. Your thoughts bring this poem of Derek Wolcott to mind:
Break a vase
And the Love is takes to reassemble the fragments
Is stronger than that Love
Which took its symmetry for granted
When it was Whole
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Oh I love this! It takes my breath away it is so beautiful ❤
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Reblogged this on sliceofheaveninsweden and commented:
I think this is one of lifes lessons that we should teach our children starting at a young age. Brenda Ann expressed it in a way that could easily be understood. It is a life affirming and positive way to look at life.
Honey
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Thank you Brenda Ann,
I needed someone else to reaffirmering my beliefs, life lessons and to reinforce them for me. I am going through a major medical crisis right now. I really needed this message. I liked your prayer that I would rather polish the gold rather than endure the cracks. I too learned long ago not to ask God for patience, knowledge or wisdom, because he usually gives it to you by trials and tribulations. Right now I am trying to find my way to through this situation.
Honey
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Honey, it sounds like you are hitting a rough patch. I am so sorry for your troubles and hope that you get through this quickly and gently. xo
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Thanks Brenda this health crisis is hitting 6 month mark. It has knocked me to the ground. Yesterdays hospital visit rattle my cage. It will take me a couple of days to bounce back from the chock. I have two big test next week. I am hoping to get some answers from them. Thank for the post It brightened my day.
Honey
Honey
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Very good read. I thrive on elements that generate change. My favorite line: “Change cracks us open. We judge changes, especially the dramatic ones, as traumatic or hard or bad, but in reality they are the challenges we need to shake us from our stupor and help us to expand our souls.”
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Thank you, Huddy. I also try to thrive on the elements that generate change. It is a process I am learning to embrace.
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I needed some soul soothing and the Universe directed your post to me.
Thanks!
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I am so happy to hear that. Thank you!
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