Vessel

And my favorite one, too. I got it as an eighth grade graduation present from an awesome person. For me it was a reminder to be like the clay, to be malleable, to come out of the fire [of high school] stronger, and to be a vessel. Unfortunately my favorite jar broke (which I hope isn't a bad omen). But I fixed it with gold.

I got inspired by reading about the Japanese art of Kintsugi ("golden joinery"). (However, I couldn't afford to be authentic, and I didn't really feel like using poison ivy goo as an adhesive anyway.) Obviously I'm not a Japanese potter and it turned out really bumpy and not as pretty as it had the potential to be, but at least it's prettier than just glue.

So I sat here for three days, listening to The Mountain Goats and The Avett Brothers and Regina Spektor and being kind of angry and kind of happy along with the music, which flooded my thoughts as I did a lousy job gluing the shards with the wrong kind of glue.

"Stay like the clay" is what my wandering mind wanders back to. (This reminds me of the Tolkien quote: "Not all that glitters is gold, and not all who wander are lost." What a nice idea, that one could wander in one's own head.) Be malleable. Come out of the fire stronger. A vessel is meant to be full, to hold something, to carry it, and to have a purpose. You'll break, and you'll have to be pieced back together. Hopefully whoever picks up your pieces puts you back together with gold. You may not be stronger, but you don't have to hide your brokenness. You were taken to the Earth, and to it you shall return. But until you do, you don't have to hide your brokenness.