The Bowl of Integrity: Wholeness as a Metaphor for Life
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The Bowl of Integrity: Wholeness as a Metaphor for Life
I wanted to share a beautiful idea from my recent podcast conversation with Amanda Louder that might speak to your heart.
Amanda compared integrity to a bowl without cracks or missing pieces.
What Makes a Bowl Have Integrity?
A bowl with integrity can fulfill its purpose completely. It holds water without leaking. It maintains its structure under pressure. It remains functional and whole. The integrity of the bowl isn't just about appearance—it's about completeness and functionality.
When a bowl is cracked or has pieces missing, it loses its integrity. Water seeps through the cracks. Food falls through the gaps. It cannot fully serve its purpose. The bowl might still exist as an object, but it has lost what makes it whole.
The Human Parallel
This metaphor extends beautifully to our lives. When we deny, suppress, or ignore parts of ourselves—whether our sexuality, emotions, dreams, or needs—we are like a bowl with missing pieces. We may function, but something essential is lost.
As Amanda explained in the podcast, many women feel "something is missing" and try to fill that void through education, hobbies, or side businesses. Yet if they're suppressing core aspects of themselves like their sexuality, that sense of incompleteness persists.
Embracing All Parts
True integrity means acknowledging and integrating all facets of who we are:
Our physical bodies and needs
Our emotional landscape
Our intellectual capacity
Our spiritual dimension
Our sexuality and sensuality
Our dreams and aspirations
None of these exist in isolation. When we try to compartmentalize or diminish any aspect, we create cracks in our wholeness.
The Courage to Be Whole
It takes courage to embrace all parts of ourselves, especially those we've been taught to minimize or hide. For many women in midlife, as Amanda discusses, embracing their sexuality after decades of putting it aside feels vulnerable and uncertain.
Yet this integration offers profound rewards. Like a bowl without cracks that can fully hold and contain, a person with integrity can experience life more fully, authentically, and joyfully.
Repairing the Cracks
Even bowls that have been cracked can be repaired. The Japanese art of kintsugi—repairing broken pottery with gold—suggests that our "repaired" places can become sources of unique beauty and strength.
Similarly, the parts of ourselves we've neglected or hidden can be reclaimed at any age. The process may leave visible lines of growth, but these marks of our journey add character rather than diminishing our wholeness.
The bowl with integrity reminds us that we were designed to be complete—not perfect, but whole. And in that wholeness, we find our truest strength and most authentic joy.
You can listen to the complete conversation with Amanda Louder HERE.
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About the Author: Jill Pack is an advanced certified faith-based life + relationship helping women in the midseason of life discover divine purpose in their daily experiences. Subscribe to our Seasons of Joy Podcast more insights and practical wisdom.
