Delicate beauty can bring sadness with it. A favorite flower that fades too quickly. A snow flake that melts immediately on the sleeve of your coat. A well-loved gift that breaks.

This glass orchid bowl is the latter for me. A truly special gift two years ago, this bowl replaced a first one that arrived shattered. I stowed the new bowl carefully in my china cabinet where I could admire it without needing to move it. Sometime over this winter, fracture lines began to appear.

I don’t dare touch it, but I know at some point I’ll have to take it from its place of honor and throw it away. There’s no point in replacing it, as I’m convinced now—after two tries—the problem is in the way it’s created. So I’ll enjoy its beauty while it lasts, even while knowing it won’t last as long as I would’ve liked.

Join me for the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? Want to add your own images during the 31-day journey? If so, feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.