The Hand Off
In which we pass songs along to those who need them most
So we arrive at the third part of our process - coming to terms with the stories evoked by the songs and finding ways to pass them along. For me, this involves picking up the many pieces of my life and fitting them back together to form a stronger and more beautiful ME - what Mandy Harvey calls creating a Masterpiece.
The Japanese call this process “kintsugi” or golden repair. When applied to broken pottery, it means gluing the pieces back together with powdered gold. The resulting piece is considered invaluable, not just because of the gold but because no two breaks are ever the same. Therefore, no two repairs are ever the same. The same holds true for people. The sum total of all you’ve experienced - all the ways you’ve been broken and repaired - make you precious. We need your stories and the lessons they contain because no one else can tell them.
So…about passing those songs along. Please choose one of the songs we heard (or one with a similar theme) and pass it along to a younger you. How old would they be? What about the song do you wish he or she knew that would have made life easier?
Finally, choose one person you wish you could say, “this is me, and though I might never be finished working on myself, I know I’m a masterpiece in the making.”
For me, that person would be my sister who has detested me for as long as I can remember but has no idea who I really am. “This is me, sis. I make no apologies, and I won't let you break me down to dust. For I am glorious.” Dang, that felt good.
Your turn.
Masterpiece....I wish this song was out in my teens. You Jena have a sister who would like to see your golden repairs of precious mending smashed again apparently. I was thinking about my own life and deep betrayals I've had. My husband says it is because I am unwilling to go along with anything that does not match my values or sense of integrity that I find myself with broken relationships. So, I am taking a deep breath and saying to all the following who I've had to let go...I am broken but I have Japanese mending in many places( alas some places arent gold just ugly sodder jobs) but when it comes down to it I must stand with what I feel is right for my own integrity....To my ex friend Annette who 3 months after being your maid of honor in your second wedding and having to wear the most hideous brides maid dress at the age of 56 blocked me and then slandered me to her family all because I loathe Trump and made no bones about it on Instagram, to my ex friend Amanda whom I was always "there" for but discarded me when you moved to a gated community with friends who purchased expensive things for you and then you became a " QANON KAREN" and for both my brothers John
and Andrew who both have DON'T TREAD ON ME license plates and are weasels who do not like me and for Andrew who has always taken a special loathing of me because our birth order displeased him ( I am the oldest which agitates his Narcissim) I say...my broken pieces contain mostly gold from the wisdom I've gained. The rest is sodder which I must replace with gold...but that will take time. I am a work in progress. Masterpiece may be too strong of a word. But I do love my gold soddering. Thank you Jena. These are hard. But so darn good.
All the years you lived in Japan you have put to excellent use, Jena!!