I loved this bowl.

I like bowls in general –  I just like the way they fit into your cupped hand and the  symbolism they represent – empty waiting to be filled with something nourishing.  I like almost all bowls.

But this bowl was special.   I liked the shape, the design, the color and the tiny chips on the rim.

If I was to de-clutter to an extreme, I would have kept this bowl.

It broke yesterday.  I bumped a shelf in my studio and it crashed to the ground.

I’ve pieced it back together.  Enough of it is there that I could glue it and place it back on the shelf.  I could pretend that I didn’t break it.  But I know that it did.

It’s not the same bowl.  It would be the same shape.  I could still appreciate the design and color.  I might even be able to put something in it.

But I know that it’s not the same bowl.  The bowl has changed.

I thought about putting the pieces in a box to use in a future project.

I thought about cutting my losses and throwing it away.

I thought about gluing it back together and pretending it was okay.

And then I thought about what this bowl might represent symbolically.  About how I might relate it to my life.

The experiences in my life have changed me.

Things have happened that have “broken” me.

I’ve chosen to withdraw from life at times to avoid being hurt.

I’ve considered “throwing myself away”.

I’ve put myself back together and pretended like nothing had changed – that I hadn’t changed – and that everything was okay.

Today, I’m going to celebrate this bowl.  I’m going to place this bowl at the very top of my to-do list.  I’m going to use my creative abilities to make something new out of this bowl.

It won’t be exactly the same.  It will be changed.  It will be transformed.

Like me.