Trust

It takes a lot of effort to create a ceramic masterpiece.  The time it takes to create such a beauty is tremendous, especially if you have to consider the training the ceramist had to undergo in order to get to the level of calling it a masterpiece.  However, sometimes, accidents happen where the ceramics get broken, instantly causing what was once costly into a bunch of worthless little pieces.

The same goes for trust.  As we take time with one another to build that relationship and trust, it takes a whole lot of effort to assemble that magnificent amount of trust... but once that trust breaks down, we are back to square one, and this time, it becomes a lot harder to move forward.  We can't find that strength to continue... what was once a great and beautiful thing is now gone, and we're not sure we can put the pieces back together again to what it once was before.

Sometimes, when I have a bad race, I feel like that.  I feel like all that hard work was for naught, and that I completely wasted my time with my training.  I trusted in the training and then something came along and pulled the rug out from under me.  All that effort, gone.

Building up from such a mental breakdown is hard... but it comes down on what you truly trust.  If you trust that what you did, the training that you put yourself in, you can bring it back up, you can use the remnants from the training and build yourself into an even stronger character.  The result... an even faster runner than I was before the race.  The thing is, despite the things that may happen to bring you down, the training you've entrusted yourself into, the meaning behind the training still holds certainty, and you can create something even better from it.

In our relationships, we may lose the trust we once had, but when we get down to the bare bones of the situation, you still can find a way to repair even the most difficult situations.  Sometimes, it takes another friend to help you see the way, sometimes, divine intervention where you suddenly feel at peace on the situation when God's blessed you that tranquility you needed to put the pieces back together.

In Japan, when a beautiful ceramic is broken, it can go through a process called kintsugi, where the broken ceramic is pieced together and glued together with a beautiful gold resin, forming an even more beautiful piece of work.

Ceramics can be rebuilt... so can trust.  Trust in the fundamentals, the basics, and form an even more beautiful piece, and treasure it.  Don't let go, because what you may think is irreparable can turn into something much more beautiful, and the dirty cracks may transform into the highlight.