The point of a mortar and pestle is to destroy things—to grind them to tiny bits. That’s not what we generally thing of as a good thing, but spices, for instance, release their scent and flavor most readily when they are smashed to smithereens.
When have you found that what you thought was destruction released something new?
“Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.”
― Chimamanda Adichie
What story has helped to heal you?
We tend to think of restoration as something that happens to surfaces, as when you sand and varnish a scratched or stained table top. But sometimes the work of restoration requires that we go deeper to locate where damage has been done and where healing can occur.
How have you found healing through going deep?
“I just hope that more people will ignore the fatalism of the argument that we are beyond repair. We are not beyond repair. We are never beyond repair.” –Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
What are you working to repair, even if it seems beyond hope?
It’s important to remember the big picture, but the reality is that some things are simply too big to take in all at once, and you have to narrow your focus to learn anything at all.
What have you learned by narrowing your focus?
