Sharinghula

ere is nothing more whole than a broken heart,’ an anonymous Jewish rabbi is often quoted. We miss that truth too often.We
fail to see meaning in the flawed things.We are not conscious of the power in an image of brokenness. Putting wildflowers in a favorite vase that is cracked or stained values what has been meaningful in the past. Mending a torn seam carries the value of that piece of clothing into the future.
Our lives are full of flawed objects, so why not appreciate the place they have in our lives and the lessons they have to teach?
A German cream pitcher a gift from my grandmother was broken when the wind blew it off its window perch. A string of amber stones broke when it was caught on a screw as I lifted it from my jewelry box. My heart has been broken by someone who didn’t value my love. My red jacket, the one I wear daily to fetch the wood that heats my home. has a broken zipper My favorite CD broke when it fell out of my car and was stepped on. I broke a big jar of freshly made strawberry jam as I was putting it into the refrigerator
Some of these things required that I cut the losses and throw them away. Others I salvaged and still use because I appreciate their ongoing value or the sentiment attached to them.
Does your home harbor broken things? Confront the facts. Know when to toss the keepsakes and still preserve the memories. Know when to realize there is nothing more beautiful than a particular object that has been scarred by time and use and love. Give yourself permission to make a decision about the broken things in your home and in your life.
• Save love letters from relationships that, though broken, still brought you gifts ofiSoul. (Discard those from the jerks in your life.)
Repair objects that were inherited or given by a special person or on a special occasion. They are symbols of life’s beautiful
imperfect things: our bodies, our ambitions, our dreams.
Replace anything that would cost more in time or money than it is worth to you.
Validate the significance of objects to which your soul responds:
A bird with a broken wing may be buried with ceremony.
The dress you wore to that special dance may be made into glamorous pillows for your bed.Your grandfather’s worn- out clock may be placed on a shelf as a token of what his presence meant in your life.
Declutter spaces by untangling what you want to keep from what has no place ofi poignancy in your environment. Throw away the non keepers with grace and gusto.
Box up (labeled) anything that has some practical or sentimental value. In one year if you have not dug it out to use it or have not thought about it at all, let it go.