Holding Your Broken Pieces

We all have them. Broken pieces. And that’s ok. Brokenness is not failure. Brokenness is part of the human condition.  There is not a person on earth who has not experienced emotional hurt, physical pain, or has been broken in some way.  Each person’s brokenness is unique. Some may feel and carry their brokenness openly. Others expertly hide their brokenness.

It’s not surprising or unusual to want to hide our brokenness. We live in a society where strength and beauty and control and self-improvement and seizing every day are highly valued. Our cultural narrative tells us to hide or even surgically remove our flaws and to always put our best face forward.

Not only is that exhausting, but it also comes at a high cost.

What would happen if we held our brokenness gently and lovingly?

Leonard Cohen wrote, “there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”

Yes, there is a value to working on ourselves. There is a value to self-improvement, to “polishing,” as a dear friend puts it.

But what if in that process we held space for our brokenness?

What if our brokenness became an invitation for connection instead of separation?

What if we learned to love ourselves in our brokenness?

What if we allowed others to love us in our brokenness?

When I sit with my brokenness I remember that I don’t have to be whole to be loved.

I don’t have to be whole to be worthy.

I don’t have to be whole to be of value.

And, I don’t need to be whole to be healed.

The Japanese have an art form called Kintsugi, meaning “golden repair,” where a broken object is dusted with powdered gold or silver or other metal to repair it, but it’s done in a way that  the breakage becomes a part of the object. The goal of the repair is not to hide the break, but instead to treat the break as a part of the history of the object.

What are your broken pieces? Have you tried to hide them out of embarrassment or shame? Have you struggled to fully love yourself or accept love from others because of your brokenness?

What would it  look like for you to hold your broken pieces gently? Can you see light shining through the cracks?

With love,

Janet

P.S. Do you want to clarify your values and live with intention? Would you like to incorporate tools in your life that will reduce your stress and enhance your well-being? Do you want to feel empowered to become the best version of yourself?

Then register for my upcoming course: Aligning Your Life & Purpose. Click here for more information and registration.