As this day comes to a close I am reminded of my present state of sanity.
I am also reminded several times through life experience and through my knowledge of the Bible just how fragile we are as humans. We are created ‘good’, are amazing and intricate in design, have been blessed with amazing resiliency and the gift of innovation. But we are also fragile.
Our desire to be better than yesterday often tempts us to tip toe along the line of danger. And it is rarely a ‘dangerous’ act that we choose to get us there.
It is the seemingly innocuous extra hours of work, the nagging negative thoughts, the fears that are fed in silence, the unhealthy lifestyle…not to mention the genetics with which you have been bestowed. Those are the places of danger we bring in to fester until we can no longer maintain them. Unlike a safety harness that we did not tether securely, these dangers do not receive immediate attention or the help they need.
Back in 2012 I put this cracked pot back together. It was part of a leadership retreat for young leaders I put together, and the theme was based on our holding an amazing treasure within. Each person wrote items on the outside of the pot, then smashed them on the sidewalk, with the intent of putting them together. Different struggles, attributes, and worries, all in the same place, then reassembled into a new creation. Designed out of brokenness with a purpose. I keep mine at my desk in a place where I am quickly reminded of my personal struggles, and old fractures that start to show, so I can address them as needed.
On this World Mental Health Day, my hope and prayer is that your cracked pot is close in a place where you can recall the work that has been done, and the new creation that is continuing in you going forward.
Lead Freely 