Built to Last

I spent this morning trying to fix a small crack in my favorite ceramic mug. It felt silly, really. It’s just a cup, and it’s seen better days, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. There is something about things that have stood the test of time that makes me want to protect them. We live in a world that moves so fast, where everything is replaceable and nothing is meant to stay. We trade in our belongings and our commitments the moment they show a little wear. But then I think about the things that endure—the structures, the promises, the quiet devotions that remain standing long after the people who built them are gone. It makes me wonder if we are losing our capacity for permanence. Do we still know how to build things that are meant to outlive us, or have we forgotten how to love something enough to let it grow old?

Subhashish Nag Choudhury has captured this sense of enduring grace in his image titled The Symbol of Love. It feels like a quiet reminder of what remains when everything else fades. Does this image make you think of something you hope will last forever?