Kay:
Hey hey, Questers, it is Wednesday, October 6th, and this is episode 458. We have a quote for you today from Elizabeth Gilbert. Yes, the American journalist and author of “Eat, Pray, Love” and boy, does she have a good one for you today!
Shi:
She tells us, “There’s a crack (or cracks) in everyone…that’s how the light of God gets in.”
Kay:
What a fun and beautiful quote. We’d expect nothing less with Elizabeth Gilbert. Great imagery. It’s kind of funny. You expect it to be a bad thing, but then that’s a good thing. It’s just a great little turn of phrase.
Shi:
There’s a crack or cracks in everyone. You’re like, well, first of all…
Kay & Shi:
Yeah.
Shi:
I have a few myself. Then second of all, physically, literally…
Kay & Shi:
Yeah.
Shi:
But then you bring in the spiritual piece next. That’s how the light of God gets in and there are actually a lot of parallel teachings about this concept throughout religions and throughout other philosophers. So, you know it’s more than just a great turn of phrase. It really is a good lesson.
Kay:
Well, there are quite a few instances of potters and the Bible. In many of those instances that the potters are shown, they’ve got beautiful pots and ceramic vases and things, but they might have a crack in them or a crack or two. We were on a trip to Paraguay in 2016 with John Maxwell and he is talking about these different parables in the Bible that include the pots that often are cracked. Under the same guise of this being how the light of God gets in, he says, “Look, God’s looking for cracked pots. He’s looking for a bunch of cracked pots out there who can be the ones to help let that light in, insofar as to even say the more cracks the better.”
Shi:
Well, it gives it a lot more character. There’s also, I cannot remember the precise culture or surroundings, but I believe it’s the Japanese culture that talks about or values the vases that do get broken and put back together as more valuable because they’ve got distinction and character and so they’re revered as spiritual and special and better than those that have not been broken and then put back together precisely because of that. So, rather than being ashamed or tossing it aside as maybe many of us do when we crack our own pots but to revere it, to patch it, to tend it, to care for it, to pedestal it, and then to use it to help others.
Kay:
Now, it’s easy to think about cracks in the context of pots and in the context of maybe clay but let’s take this out of the physical and into the metaphorical. Let’s maybe reflect here that maybe the cracks on the human pot are things like emotional scars and trauma. Maybe this is like places where you’ve been really hurt, or you failed in the past. Maybe it’s a physical limitation that’s been brought on by injury or sickness. But the thing about these major cracks, if you’re in the middle of it right now, first off, I’m so sorry. The cracking process hurts and resealing the cracks isn’t easy and it’s hard to bring it together. The vase just never looks the same, but it can move forward. So, if you’re in the middle of it, we’re sorry, but that’s just the thing, cracking happens to us all. It’s a normal process but it’s not necessarily unpainful.
Shi:
I think about as my children do art projects continuously what happens when you glue something either together or onto something else. You have to let the glue set. Just a couple of nights ago my 11-year-old daughter Emory made a painted rock with some googly eyes on it. and some fluffy stuff glued to it. But as soon as she held it up to show me those things started, to slide down the rock because the glue is still wet. So, remembering the same concept when we glue our own cracks and selves back together that does take time. And in human terms, it doesn’t mean time just sitting still. It means time consistently engaging in the habits that will strengthen the pieces around the glue and the cracks until they solidify, and you’ve got new habit structures around that that ensure everything sticks together. But I thought that was an interesting perspective to bring forward here as we consider this quote from Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of “Eat, Pray, Love” which is, “There is a crack (or cracks) in everyone…that’s how the light of God gets in.”
Kay:
Alright, gang. That means you’ve got a Crack Quest today. Just kidding. Today, we do want you to take a look at those cracks, those emotional scars, and acknowledge your biggest flaw to shift your perspective. How has this crack actually served you or others? How has this crack let a little bit more of that light of spirit into your life? Are you ready? Crack it open with us now.
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
