My face was shattered beyond belief
I did not look at me lest I fell prey to grief.
Months of reconstruction were undergone
Cutting away tissue like it was a lawn.
But the surgeon’s scalpel could not be waved
Like a magic wand to undo the latent damage.
Therapy and prayer and strength of will
Surfaced as I struggled against rolling downhill.
Slowly, like the unfurling of a rose petal,
The days became brighter and my mind grew lighter,
Mapping my turmoil in black and white
Brought sleep once again to my restless nights.
Now like a broken vessel
Mended with gold and worth its mettle,
I have become almost whole again
With more to offer than before the pain.
I did not set out to write this little verse but here it is anyway. I saw that Japanese art, Kintsukuroi, and immediately related to it. So clearly did those simple words and that powerful image reflect my own perception of myself of having more worth and value now that I have been through a transformation that threatened to engulf me, that I had to feature it in this post. My new value comes from a place of humility: I am aware of my physical shortcomings; I acknowledge my emotional fragility; and I confess my spiritual deficiency. Nevertheless, there is much I have to offer intellectually and psychologically. I have found my purpose in life and it is in alignment with everything I have ever stood solidly for in my life.
So when I found out about an adult, in an institutional environment governed by rules and codes of conduct, who went to take something in a child’s possession, I was a bit peeved and I had to let my thoughts be known. I became more incensed when I heard that the adult was outraged when the child made a move to stop the adult from getting close to him as she attempted to grab the item. An adult in such an institution ought not to touch a child ( and vice versa), It got worse. The adult was so outraged that it was taken to higher authorities and the child was deemed in the wrong and suspended from the institution. Mind you the child, of his free will, wrote a letter of apology for two things: one was for resisting the adult and the second was for having the offending item ( not a weapon).
Now this same child has had a difficult family life. The child struggled on his own for some time, without either mother or father living at home, but both alive. He was given money and had a roof of sorts over his head. He wrote his first major examination at that institution without either parent caring enough to be present with him; he got his own meals, washed his own clothes; and he supervised himself. He actually did such a good job that he surprised all the adults at said institution when he passed all eight subjects and qualified to further his studies at the institution.
The adult referred to at the beginning, has been seen sitting unacceptably close to children of the opposite gender but does not apparently realize that that is improper. At a hearing with other adults, members of a clique supporting this person in question, were quick to point out that they had recommended the child should not have been given a chance at further studies, even though he was qualified academically. The letter of apology was completely ignored. Not a single adult defended the child or sought to explain his family situation.
How sad it is when adults are quick to act without fully understanding the situation before them; when people, all of us, jump on the judgement bandwagon, forgetting that we all make mistakes and that it is those same mistakes which mold us into works of beauty and worth.
How do you think that situation could have been better handled? Please leave a comment below and let me know your valued thoughts.
Educater 