Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Peace in Pieces


Linking with the Wed Muse # 7 "A Beautiful Mess"
Thank you for another wonderful prompt Toni!


Today Toni is having us explore the Japanese art of Kintsugi and how to make the most of breaks, cracks, mistakes.  Kintsugi is the repairing of a break or a crack with gold. It was created in the 5th century when a shogun broke his favorite tea cup.  He didn't want to throw the cup away but he wanted to continue to use it. 

 She is asking us all to write a poem in any form about the healing in your life - how you have repaired the cracks and breaks, about your scars, how you have triumphed or are trying to persist.  How you let the light shine through the cracks, how you grow stronger. 




If a mistake is not a stepping stone, it is a mistake. ~Eli Siegel


Note:
I could write many things about this, because if mistakes were worth money I would be rich indeed!

If I were a bowl sitting on the table
I would be cracked in countless places
No more soup eating in this one
 Maybe a place to put sweet-n-low
Or ketchup packets
You see
I have a tendency to fall
Not just the slipping on ice kind
I make decisions with my broken heart
Leaving my whole mind out of the equation
Not everyone and everything
Can be alright at the same time
But I would sure try to make it so
It is a behavior that has
Taken away my peace
My money
My health
And others sobriety
Slowly with glue
And a lot of growth
I have healed
Seeing others heal
And they grew
With God’s help
Not mine
There is a peace now
I did not know before
Holding the burden of other’s hurts
Is a heavy and weary place
That only adds to our own pain
Letting go is such a simple thing
Yet so profoundly hard
It is a lesson I have learned slowly
And will be learning for the rest of my life
 piece by piece
Like fragments of broken glass
Being placed back together
One piece at a time
To make me complete again.

Note 2:  I have talked about it many times in my other posts, but I am the mother of a recovery addict alcoholic.    I am so very thankful that he has been clean and sober for going on 5 years in July, but looking back, I know in my heart that I slowed that process.  My trying to help kept him from truly getting the help he needed.  That is something that I will have to live with for the rest of my life.  All I ever wanted was for him to be whole, happy, and live a good life.  By the grace of God that is now so. 


14 comments:

  1. This was very moving and thought provoking poem.Kindness and empathy are almost always mistaken for stupidity and people with a heart are always exploited.If you have overcome your suffering without bitterness then you have succeeded. Any action done out of kindness and care is not a mistake...don't beat yourself up...you are just a caring person.Glad your son is OK too.

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    1. Thank you so much Rall for your sweet words of encouragement. I appreciate it greatly.

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  2. Carrie, you have written my life story. Maybe this is why wrinkles appear on our faces as we age - our Kintsugi made visible. I am so glad your son has five years of sobriety - a triumph indeed. And, as Rall says, caring is not a mistake - knowing you loved him likely pulled your son through. I really relate to this poem. I have lived it, which is why I am so tired. Smiles.

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    1. I understand Sherry. It is a weary path indeed. I wish you peace as well, and thank you so much for your kind words.

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  3. The truth is in the knowing and when we know, that is the healing part. Beautiful words, endurance that led to growth.

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    1. Thank you so much my friend! You words are so very true and inspire me!

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  4. As a recovering addict and alcoholic, I say, you do what you do. You loved your son. He is also responsible for allowing his recovery ti be slowed. It is a two way street.let the blame go. This is a heart rending life to live, the mother of an addict. I have bern clean and sober for 35 years. I eas and am responsible for ny own actions. You love your son. You did only what you knew to do.

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    1. That is such a blessing Toni! That fills my heart with hope and i know you are right, it is another part of letting go that can be difficult. Thank you for encouraging me. 😊

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  5. Just heartbreaking. I do feel your strength come through in your beautiful poem.

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  6. This is so moving, Carrie. My sister has been going through this nightmare for years, with my nephew.

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    1. That saddens my heart Sara! It is a certain suffering indeed. Thank you for your kind words.

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  7. "Holding the burdens of others' hurts is a heavy and weary place." And mothers do this so well, don't they? Sigh. And, yes, letting go is hard....and it sounds like it took you some time to do this, but in the end it sounds like you found the right path. I like the honesty of this poem & the strength of your words!

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    1. You are so right Mary....mothers do that so very well. Thank you so much for your warm and kind words.

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"Our best thoughts come from others." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson