The Beauty of Broken Glass
Last week I wrote about what love is and is not. If you didn’t read it, please click on this link ==>https://daralevan.com/what-is-love-%f0%9f%92%9c/ While I cleaned my kitchen on Tuesday, I thought about the meaning of twenty years. Unbeknownst to me, a wine glass quietly graced the countertop, and my hand sent it airborne. A sudden sound snapped me from my romantic reverie. Shocked and stunned, I stood still as my eyes surveyed the shattered pieces.
I immediately put my dogs, Rocky and Izzy, in a safe place. As I walked toward the laundry room to grab a broom, it struck me that glass breaking is symbolic. Timing truly IS everything.
And that’s precisely when I realized the synchronicity of this moment: Today is my twenty year anniversary with my incredible husband. I am dedicating this blog to him; he is my forever love, best friend, and life partner. And as he so often does, my husband inspired today’s message. We are a loving union of two imperfect individuals. We choose wholeness, commitment, laughter, love, respect, and each other.
In the Jewish tradition, the marriage ceremony is culminated by stepping on glass. There are numerous explanations; I am choosing just a few! This signifies how quickly things can and do change. No situation is permanent. In other religions and cultures, accidentally breaking a glass wards off evil energy, and it means good luck.
I peered at the glass, increasingly intrigued by how differently each piece had broken. The shards were big and small, smooth and rough, thick and thin. I carefully picked up the pieces, one by one, and gingerly placed them into the trash bin. Can you believe that just this morning I found yet another tiny remnant of glass in a nearby room?
It is mind-blowing how one small object can unexpectedly shatter and scatter. I thought more about love, life, and what twenty years represents. I also pondered, as I held these paradoxically strong yet fragile fragments, what a metaphor this is for our lives. My husband and I well know that nothing is permanent; we experienced traumatic losses before we even got married. I am grateful for every single sunrise and sunset; I understand all we have is this moment.
I did not intend to make this a message about my twentieth wedding anniversary; it is a milestone that I cherish, value, and honor. Two decades, 7,300 days, 10, 512, 000 minutes in an indescribable journey. There is another facet to what this glass shattering represented for me.
In other parts of my life, my heart has been cracked, my soul has been shattered. I say this without hyperbole and with complete honesty. And you know what? I am whole again. Are my pieces in their original form and design? Heck no! And I have also chosen discard some fragments because they were beyond repair. I let them go.
Each rearranged and transformed piece comprises the mosaic that is me. As I’ve written about before, I am grateful for it all. My life, marriage, and all relationships are deeper and purer than ever. As things fell apart, what and who is truly important became clear. One thing I know for sure is each second is our teacher, if our hearts and minds are willing to learn.
During the past twenty years, I have learned more than I could’ve ever imagined. How do YOU define a year, or twenty, in your life? What does twenty years mean for you? Please email me or reach out on social media and share! I will connect with you, as always, next week and write about what twenty years means to me.