ShatteredButStillWhole

Shattered But Still Whole

The title of this blog, “Shattered But Still Whole”, comes from a chapter in a book by Saki Santorelli called Heal Thy Self: Lessons on Mindfulness in Medicine. Mr. Santorelli got the phrase from an NPR Morning Edition Story about a Chicago art museum exhibiting works by “disabled” artists. Here is an excerpt:

Next we hear about a sculptor. A large, powerfully built man who fabricates and welds metal, building huge and sometimes towerlike structures. We find out that this sculptor lost his leg some years ago, is unable to wear a prosthesis, and continues to sculpt with one leg. He is asked if his work now is different from when he had two legs. The man responds clearly, deliberately. “This is what I do now. This is normal.” We come to find out that this sculptor has been chosen to create the centerpiece of the exhibit. He has sculpted a sphere out of stone, perhaps marble or granite. We are told that it was perfect, with an uninterrupted, smoothly polished surface. After the sphere was completed, the artist smashed it, then put it back together with bolts, metal fasteners, and bonding agents. Now–full of fractures–it is sitting in the middle of the gallery, in the middle of America, labeled SHATTERED BUT STILL WHOLE.