Kintsugi 1: Possibilities, Persistence, Provision, Purpose, Peace

Do children still read Chicken Little? If not, they should. It’s an old country fable about a frightened bird who mistakes a falling acorn for the end of the world. He was wrong, of course — but watching the American government now, you have to wonder whether Chicken Little might be having his moment. The sky above us, once steady, feels unstable. Oddly enough, that instability brings both alarm and a strange kind of hope. What are we witnessing? And who are we becoming as a Nation?

Rather than running around in panic, what if we treated this moment as a call to repair? In the perceived brokenness of a falling sky lies Possibility — the chance to end practices that harm our People, our Constitution, and our Allies. What if We the People chose healing?

When I reference a falling sky, I’m talking about the blatant disregard for the Rule of Law. The seizing of immigrants and the killing of citizens. The exposure of elite networks abusing children. The millions without access to healthcare. The skyrocketing cost of food, housing, and transportation. The U.S. meddling in other nations’ futures. These are sky‑falling realities.

When I ponder repair, I return to Kintsugi, the ancient Japanese art of mending broken pottery with gold. I asked a friend whether I should depict a golden‑sutured heart or a repaired map of the USA. “Annie,” she said, “you’re thinking too small. The world needs repair.” She’s right. The whole globe needs golden seams. Let me say plainly: I believe in the power of Love to heal us into Peace. If we imagine a sky that blankets the Earth with Love, Justice, and Peace, then Kintsugi becomes a way of seeing ourselves as one people, one planet, one world.

Of course, the image is aspirational. I mourn the widening rift between Canada and the U.S., even as citizens remain close. I’m astonished by the EU’s resilience in the face of our leader’s threats. Instead of cowering, European nations are forming new alliances, leaving the U.S. increasingly isolated. Old structures are cracking — and that too is sky‑falling work.

Willie Nelson, at ninety‑two, sings in his new single ‘Heart of America’ that our nation is still Dreaming of Peace. I believe him. We have always been the Dreaming Heart of America. Let us find the melody lines and the harmonies and sing along.

As we move from January’s Dreaming into February’s Soft Peace of Awakening, we’re called to act. Some are standing in protest, feeding and protecting the vulnerable, exposing abuses of power. Others — Peacemakers — are called to build what comes next. What do we want to create? What must be composted? Who balances our gifts?

I’m a Peacemaker, a Prophet, a Poet. Here are five action‑words — five golden seams — that move us from “the sky is falling” to “the world is repairable.”

• Possibilities — the first glimmer of gold, the moment we realize repair is possible.
• Persistence — the steady work of holding the pieces together long enough for healing.
• Provision — the resources, spiritual and material, that make repair possible.
• Purpose — the reminder that we repair because the vessel still has meaning.
• Peace — the finished bowl, more beautiful because it was broken.

In future Substacks, I will explore each of these five words. Maybe these five words are deliberate steps we can take toward Peace. Let us thank Chicken Little for sounding the alarm and Willie for singing us forward. May we find our “peeps,” become midwives of a renewing nation, and awaken to the Possibilities of Spring. Let us be about the business of Peace — healing the cracks with gold, becoming delicate Kintsugi artists in a world longing to be made not only whole — but also Beautiful.

Oh, and let’s all of us make Kintsugi Peace! We’ll be the patchwork of color joined together by gold!