Broken Glass
Broken glass keeps showing up on our land. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten down on hands and knees to dig out yet another shard of beer bottle. For a place that is in many ways undisturbed, this evidence of thoughtless humans is well, frankly, disturbing.
Did the beer bottle breaking participants ever think that leaving broken glass everywhere might be a hazard for the animals (and barefoot walking humans) who call this land home?
Apparently not.
Which makes me angry. It seems so selfish to not think about the fact someone else can get hurt just for the fun of smashing things.
But, in all fairness, I guess I don’t really know why they broke the bottles. Maybe they felt angry and needed a way to vent their frustration. Maybe they were using the bottles to practice shooting so they could be more humane when hunting.
Maybe they just didn’t think.
I’ll never know the reason they did what they did. But I can learn from this.
First, I can be more aware of how my own actions are affecting others. As much as I am empathetic, I too can get wrapped up in my own story and miss opportunities to have compassion.
Second, I can recognize the metaphor.
Even though the bottles were broken long ago, the shards of glass can still cut. Just like what happens in our psyche.
Often, our current struggles are rooted in woundings from our past. Like the glass shards, they cause us pain until they work their way to the surface where we can heal them.
That’s where I come in as a coach. I help people find their broken bottles and teach them how to safely clean up the cut glass, so they can stop re-wounding themselves. And just like on our land, it takes time to get all the broken shards out, but the end results will be worth it.
How about you? Does the thoughtlessness of others make you angry? Could it be offering you an opportunity to be more compassionate or to see a place where you might need to be more aware? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
And if you need some help unearthing your glass shards, reach out and we’ll set up a time to talk.
Barefoot walking on our soon to be glass-free land
