This month’s Soul Matter’s Theme is Trust. In honor of this and given the current climate in which we live, the following story seems most apropos.
Wisdom Story: The Story of the Broken Pot
(Authored by Soul Matters Director of RE Resources, April Rosario. Inspired by the tradition of Kintsugi and “golden repair”)
Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a Japanese village, there was an old pot that had been passed down through generations. One day, a child from the family who owned the pot was playing with it when they weren’t supposed to and dropped it. The pot hit the floor, and it cracked, losing its ability to hold water.
The child picked up the pieces and tried to hide them, for they knew they were not supposed to be playing with it in the first place.
For days, the family searched for the pot, and eventually, the child brought out the pieces and explained what had happened. Their family was furious. “How can we ever trust you again?” they asked the child. And they brought the pieces outside to throw away.
A village elder happened to be watching and asked that they give the pot to him instead, for he was sure he could fix it. The family handed over the pieces but doubted that the pot could ever be restored to its former state.
What the family didn’t know was that the elder had been trained in the traditional Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold. The elder worked patiently, ensuring that each crack was carefully mended. After several days of painstaking effort, the pot was restored to its original shape. Though the cracks were still visible, the pot was now stronger than ever before.
The elder returned the pot and explained to the family, “I know you are mad, but remember, trust is like this pot. Yes, it can crack and sometimes be broken, but we have the power within us to fix those cracks. And if done well, the pot can end up being even stronger and more beautiful than before.
And then the wise elder mysteriously handed the child his special brush and the parents his jar of paint.
As we continue to respond to this moment in history, filled with anxiety, fear, anger, and uncertainty when so much of the world seems broken or breaking, might we draw strength from this vision of hope, that within each of us, and as we band together, there are ways and means of living deeply, responding meaningfully, and moving toward the changes that are necessary for health, wholeness and peace. Let us ask ourselves and each other, what is your brush and paint? What experiences give you the wisdom to recognize truth, and how are you living into this moment? Let us be curious more than judgmental. Let us be courageous more than enraged.
Blessings, Aaron