I Raku glazed you at The Goodlife Festival Experience 2016: you, the ugly bowl, with the rusty copper glow. You awkward-looking, disappointing bowl.
How I hate you!
I desired you to have flashes of turquoise and green weaving intricately amongst the crackled white glaze: a bowl to be proud of where people gasped in wonder at my natural talents. Instead, you were the runt of the litter with splashes of gaudy copper; an ostentatious, lumpy exaggeration of a copper colour. How dare you disappoint me with your flamboyance? I knew you would let me down.
I hide you away to forget about you: so that I may reflect and cast a judgemental eye upon myself!
But wait…I ponder…I realise…STOP… I wake up to the truth of what you actually represent at this moment:
You represent ease as I laugh and chat with the course participants;
You acknowledge how far I have come to truly feel comfortable in my own soul skin: out at a festival, relaxed with people and trying new things;
You represent stepping out of the inner turmoil of social anxiety and into a new sense of inner calm;
You acknowledge that I am riding the waves of grief.
You are a beautiful bowl! I see your cheeky flashes of turquoise and green winking through the copper. I see you perfectly imperfect and okay as you are. I see you are unique and mysterious with a sense of humour. I see you mature and evolve with each passing day.
Thank you ugly-beautiful bowl for this lesson in (self) acceptance, kindness, and compassion. Thank you for showing me how beautiful you really are: Wabi-sabi.
Do you find yourself harshly judging what you have created?
Stop and ponder a moment: re-frame your wonderful addition to your world. What hidden messages does it have for you to learn from? Is there a golden(copper) thread in those reflections? I would love to know.