The Cracks in Everything

Truth and beauty in the broken spaces between (I know this sentence is a lot).

I usually have a playlist going of new music, or curating a certain mood. But my internet friends recently inspired me to make some new ones. One was a running playlist, which I strangely didn’t already have (I’ve just been running to playlists like “Fill Ur Heart,” like some Johnny-come-lately to bipedalism). One playlist was inspired by someone asking what songs give you “chills.”

A song from that I’ve since had on repeat is “Bless the Telephone” by Labi Siffre. I recently learned more about Siffre via Amanda W. Timpson. Due to racism and homophobia, Siffre is not a household name, despite writing some of the most recognizable music of the last century.

Another song that’s been stuck in my head is Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem.”

“Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.”

I like the idea that no matter how dark things seem, light shines through. I often remind myself that, globally and culturally, things have been darker than they are now. And I can’t expect myself to shift the whole tide. Yet despite suppression, we have the surviving creative works of those who persevered, like Bob Marley, Nina Simone, and Stevie Wonder. Somehow, people keep breaking through the cracks to provide beacons of hope and catharsis.

Speaking of cracks, we are, as always, trying to address issues in our home. One of those issues is a broken, rotting, nearly nonfunctional exterior door. I recently gave it a firm push closed (you have to be firm because it’s falling off the hinges) when I shattered a pane of glass. Peter replaced the pane with a piece of scrap wood. When the weather warms up, we’ll repair or replace the door. In the meantime, we keep patching, and I’ve developed a strange fondness for its ability to hang in there.