It's a perfect time to focus on mending.

Clothes, household tools and appliances, friendships, and familial relationships could all use a little tender loving care right now. 

Mending is an art.

It starts with seeing the world around us as less disposable than consumer society would have us believe.

We can take something that is old, chipped, cracked, or unraveling and attend to it so that it becomes more beautiful and functional than before. 

In Japan, the art of visible mending textiles is called Sashiko, and art of mending pottery is called Kintsugi ("golden joinery"). 

Instead of buying a new sweater, we can pull out the sewing kit and mend those holes so diligently chewed by hungry moths. 

Instead of buying a new broom, we can head into the tool shed and find a creative way of restoring functionality. 

Instead of leaving heart-felt words unspoken, we can reach out to old friends or family members and heal past misunderstandings. 

The art of mending has myriad applications. 

In these times of sheltering (during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020), we have an opportunity to get back to wholesome practices that use our hearts and hands to enrich life, fortify connection, and restore our humanity.