10/06/2026
**THE LESSON FROM A CUP ☕💙**
I decided to write about this because the experience shifted my perspective so much that I have thought about it almost every day since.
One morning, I brought a mug to work that I had originally bought for my mom. Stay with me—the cup matters.
It was a light-blue ceramic mug with the words **“ #1 Mom”** written across it.
I arrived at work in a rush. My first client would be arriving soon, and I wanted to warm something before the session started. I opened the microwave, reached to put the mug inside…and missed the opening by what felt like a fraction of an inch.
The mug crashed to the floor.
Liquid went everywhere.
Broken pieces scattered across the peach-colored tile.
And for a moment, I just stood there.
Frozen.
That mug meant something to me. And for half a second, it felt like more than a cup had shattered.
As I stared at the mess in front of me, I realized I had a choice.
I could stand there focusing on what had broken.
I could keep asking myself:
*How could I have missed the microwave?*
*Why wasn’t I more careful?*
*Why did this have to happen?*
I could criticize myself.
I could replay the mistake.
I could allow guilt and shame to keep me standing in the middle of broken pieces.
But none of those things would clean up the floor.
So, I started cleaning.
One piece at a time.
One wipe at a time.
And before I knew it, that old peach retro tile looked almost new again.
The mess was gone.
The broken pieces had been removed.
And I had moved forward.
That morning reminded me of something I often tell people in therapy:
**Sometimes we cannot undo what has happened, but we can decide what we do next.**
Life will have broken-cup moments.
Relationships change.
People disappoint us.
Plans fall apart.
We make mistakes.
We experience grief.
Something we deeply value may even be lost.
There is certainly a time to grieve what was broken.
But eventually, healing asks us a question:
**Will you keep staring at the broken pieces, or will you begin the process of cleaning them up?**
Healing does not mean that what happened did not matter.
Moving forward does not mean that you forgot.
It simply means you have decided that the broken moment will not be the place where your story ends.
Sometimes restoration begins with the smallest decision:
**Pick up the first piece.**
The future can begin looking better one moment at a time.
**The Lesson From a Cup. ☕**
**Rise. Rebuild. Restore.**
— TAMAR Community Cares by TCCC
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