Broken: Different Perspectives
I.M. Pei was a Chinese-American architect whose designs include the JFK Library, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the Louvre Pyramid. His work was unusual and innovative in that he contextualized all of his buildings. He made it a point to consider different perspectives with which to approach each project and to try out different ideas in order to figure out which one would succeed and best complement the location.
I learned about I.M. Pei from a children’s biography. “Ordinary People Change the World” by Brad Meltzer is a wonderful series written to show the value of character, kindness, honesty, and courage. Many of I.M. Pei’s early blueprints were panned, especially before they were built and the reason behind his designs became more evident. His career almost ended by all the problems in construction of the Hancock Tower in Boston. But he believed in his work and persevered. Near the end of Meltzer’s retelling, he writes, “Never stop looking at things from different points of view. Keep your eyes and ears open to the world, and your mind open to new ideas. Let the light in. When you do... you’ll have a blueprint for success.”
During this Epiphany season of focusing on brokenness, I hope you’ve been encouraged to consider your own brokenness from different perspectives. It may be where the light enters in, or shines brighter, or reveals a new direction you didn’t see before. It may just need tending differently than you treated it before. It may be a telling the world that your scars don’t need to be hidden and covered, that having scars is a normal part of life, and that a face that lacks flaws and wrinkles is actually abnormal. Or, it may be more literally a matter of perspective. Years ago, I remember reading the analogy that life is like a tapestry or cross-stitch. We focus all too much on the back side, the side with the loose threads and knots, and we totally miss the beautiful picture on the front. Maybe it’s time to flip your life over, whatever that looks like, and see the picture that all those loose threads and knots create on the other side.
The work of creation is messy and may look and feel like brokenness. My daughter’s bedroom floor is frequently covered with snippets of yarn, scraps of paper and fabric, pieces of cardboard, and an assortment of scissors, glue, and gel pens. She doesn’t pay attention to any of that. I see the mess. She sees the front of the tapestry while I’m looking at the back. She sees her newest creation: a doll house, a necklace, bow ties, stickers she made from scratch, and she is so proud.
May we not get bogged down by the mess and the fact that there are cracks and instead seek different perspectives.