Waxing Philosophic

Bear with me for a bit. I'm feeling the need to wax philosophic.

If I were to break a vase and it fell into many little pieces, when I glued it back together, would it be the same? Probably not. Most likely, the vase would be weaker and more apt to be broken in the future.

I guess it is the same way with any object. If I take a tree and turn it into lumber then it's still the tree but in a different form. The problem comes that the lumber can never be made back into the tree. It's irrevocably altered.

I wonder if this works the same way for intangible things like emotions and faith. If your heart is broken, when it's put back together is it the same? I'm talking about the metaphorical heart not an actual heart. Apparently if you reconstruct an actual heart or use an artificial one - you will live to be well over 100. They are practically indestructible.

Anyway, back to my moment of philosophy. I do not think that you are the same. I think that experiences - good and bad - irrevocably change you and make you unable to return to your prior state. Therefore if your heart is broken, you may be able to put it back together, but it will not be the same. The situation, person, etc has left its mark.

I think this is the same when you have a crisis of faith. If something happens to make you question your belief in God, will you ever be able to return to your prior level of faith? In my opinion, the short answer to this question is no. Once you have gone down the path that forces you to question everything that you believe in, you cannot return to your pre-journey state.

The longer answer to this is that your faith can come back either weaker or stronger than before. If your path leads you to such a crisis that you were to no longer harbor any beliefs, then your faith is much weaker. However, sometimes the journey causes you to reevaluate life and can actually strengthen your faith.

Many people say that the sum of your experiences makes you unique and that what does not kill you makes you stronger. I am not so sure that it makes you stronger, but it definitely makes you different. Different can be good or it can be bad but in the end you are still changed. The hard part comes when you have to reconcile yourself to that change and know that no matter how hard you fight it that experience, person, etc has changed you forever.

There is no way to take the broken vase and make it the same as a new one.