The Broken Wine Glass

Finding Beauty in Imperfection

At the corner of the living room stood a coffee stool, on it I noticed a rather attractive blue broken wine glass with its stem and base missing.  Why would anyone want to keep a piece of a broken wine glass anyway? After all it was so obvious that it had lost its aesthetic appeal and intended functionality.

The next few minutes marked the beginning of a conversation that would indulge my curiosity while I continued nonetheless to hold the broken piece in awe, perhaps to create some meaning out of it.

Photo Courtesy; Pixabay

My friend had bought this wine glass a while back when he visited one of the famous glass art studios in the outskirts of Nairobi City. The glass stood out from the rest and on spotting it from the shelves, he felt a strong liking that prompted his decision to purchase and display it as an art. Unfortunately, when he got home it fell and broke into half before it served its purpose. This however, he says did not deter him from keeping it; he threw away the stem and the base but kept the bowl. As we had this conversation I couldn’t help but notice the sentimental value he attached to this piece of art, one that he valued for its uniqueness; in fact even with an obvious fault, he wouldn’t throw it away if given a replacement.

As a deep thinker though, I began creating meaning out of a conversation that would have easily passed as simple and casual. I was stirred by how much this case is very much relatable to our relationships (be it family, friendships, marriages); what if we applied a similar concept to our relationships? Every human relationship has the ability to provide meaning, and joy despite our faults, this is quite possible only when we learn to truly love.

We never develop relationships hoping for the worst, just the same way when you purchase that piece of art, or wine glass, it rarely crosses your mind that it will break the moment you get home in as much as it is a possibility.

When it comes to personal relationships, there can be a tangle; personalities can begin to clash, petty arguments surface too easily, irritations may occur and so on. On occasion, we tend to display our strengths and positive attributes so we can stand out from the rest and fit within a particular 'perfect' circle often defined by the beholder.  Rarely do we talk about the fact that each of us will also come with our weaknesses thoroughly intact. Yet we seem surprised when weakness surface at a certain point into the relationship.

Photo Courtesy; Mike Buckley

In reality, very few things in life (if any) are perfect, including all form of relationships. Instead of expecting perfection and ending up feeling disappointed, it is important to learn how to accept and navigate around the faults. As a result, you’re likely to feel happier in your relationship. Very often we notice that our greatest weakness is simply our greatest strength out of balance. The wisdom that’s the Bible implies that in relationships our general attitude should be one of restoring and loving unconditionally; a joint effort of finding the holes and mending them. 

 (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) 

The broken wine glass story is a lesson that love is derived from exploring the simple, embracing each other in totality despite our imperfections and hence finding the beauty in each other’s imperfections. If we haven’t understood this yet then probably what we’ve always perceived as love might just have been an illusion.

However, love means different things to different people and we are not going to act like and pretend that it is easy either. One may ask though at what point do you let go? My take; when the glass is completely shattered and you can’t make sense of the pieces anymore.

The moment you make that commitment, then you should be prepared to take on the full responsibility that comes with it. If it meant so much to you when you first spotted it, then hold on to it even in its broken state… and make good of it while it lasts!