When a pottery dish breaks in Japan they have a custom to join the shards back together with molten gold. That way when the dish or vase is fused together it looks like an ancient and beautiful work of art and every fused shard adds depth to the story of the dish.
The lesson that comes out of this is quite simple. The breaks in our lives are what form us into who we are today and that is worth more than anything. It’s true, we’re not perfect and if something inside us is broken we probably will never be perfect.
But hey! We do have one thing we can do and that’s to fuse the broken pieces, our faults and sadness back together with gold to give the vessel that our life is preciousness and value. And what might the gold in our life be that will help fuse the pieces together? Saying thank you!
Giving thanks and acknowledging G-d’s kindness in the smallest things He does for us (like walking and breathing) and doesn’t do for us (like winning a Mega Lotto lottery) is the way to make peace with all our internal and external imperfections that came to our fragile vessel called life.
