I adore this picture.I captured it a long time ago, as a  passenger somewhere along the M74/M6.

What I couldn’t see properly in the light or chose not to when I took it, were the power/telephone cables right across the centre of my view. I may have even thought that I could edit them out, despite my limited tech skills. However, it turns out that smudging, blurring or uploading to an AI app claiming to have magic skills, still didn’t remove them.

This got me thinking. What was I trying to achieve by erasing what was physically there in real life. Did they obscure my view of the vast sky and the contrast of dark clouds and bright light? Did the lines distract me from the double rainbow? Yes, in a way they did. For me, once I was able to see the image, i thought they ruined a perfectly decent photograph.

But what I failed to realise back then was because I was so focused on wanting to ‘improve’ it, I was missing the whole point of seeing the beauty just as it was. I was dismissing the rare sight of bright sunshine, with dark clouds and double rainbows. The hill tops without buildings and the vast open space. In all honesty this picture really didn’t do my view justice.

So what has that got to do with anything? For me it’s telling me that just because something might not have gone to plan, or turned out how I would have liked, that doesn’t make it any less important or beautiful. By only focussing on the imperfections and wanting to remove them, I was literally missing out on ‘the bigger picture.’

Kintsugi is the Japanese art form of mending the cracks in pottery with gold, silver, or platinum. It is not just a repair technique, but a philosophy that embraces imperfection, and sees the beauty, value and history of an object, rather than hiding or discarding something that may have previously been viewed as broken. Although, the art form may symbolise the fragility of being human and the impact of life events, in essence, it emphasises that by repairing the piece it becomes stronger and more valuable, thus demonstrating the adaptability and acceptance towards our own unique paths in life.

A wolf lay at my door. It never sleeps, but always keeps my tears from grasping more. Today I watched him howling, he seemed all wild and full of pride. But when I took another glance, anguished eyes, he did not hide. So I took a step towards him, as quietly as I dare. As not to startle or confuse, and definitely not to scare. But he knew, his head it flew, to face me in his lair. His eyes like fire. His sniff disgust. His fangs to shreds he'd tear. There are no more words to describe him. His pain no one can see. But I then saw, he mirrored inside my soul, as the wolf in pain was me,