Within the Teacher Lies the Lesson

"When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.' ~ Barbara Bloom

Within the Broken Lies the Beautiful


Within the broken lies beauty
Within the lost lies discovery
Within the weary lies resolve
Within the abandoned lies self-reliance
Within the battered lies strength
Within the suffering lies wisdom
Within the humiliated lies humility

And so it goes, on and on,
The teacher and the lesson.

When I originally posted this, the image — which I’d carelessly reposted — mistakenly attributed the quote on brokenness to Billie Mobayed. Apparently the quote originates with Barabara Bloom, an American installation artist (not the children’s book writer, as is sometimes reported). In 2008, Bloom received the Wynn Newhouse Award and in accepting she made this poignant statement.

2 Responses to “Within the Teacher Lies the Lesson”

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  1. Antoinette says:

    Thank you…….needed to hear this to find the gold amongst some ashes.

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