When a door shuts sometimes, if we are lucky, a window opens. The objects collected here and the related memories of their keepers illustrate both adversity and opportunity. Challenge and chance are sometimes connected. Hardships can inspire the quest for making a positive impact on the world. The objects collected here represent for their keepers luck, divine providence, and the determination with which one can rise from rock-bottom to shine.
Blessings
Many events have had to happen to make our lives possible. For some, this ordering is a result of divine orchestration. For others, the role of chance or luck in our lives is humbling. The objects grouped here remind their keepers of a single moment that defined the rest of their life – enabling an opportunity, sparking a lifelong interest, or facilitating one’s very survival.
Contributions by: Hillel Cohn, Jack Brown, Bob Pettitt, and Ward McAfee
The Beauty of the Soul
Aristotle wrote, “The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.” We don’t all face adversity with grace. But there are some who have the will and the strength to not only overcome difficulties and misfortunes, but to become a stronger person from such experiences. Some even become an advocate for those who are navigating similar struggles. The objects grouped here are a testament to such beauty of the soul.
Contributions by: Amelia Sinclair, Donald Davis, and Lois Carson
Remnants
Many of the objects in this gallery hint at a treasure trove of joyful memories. But not everyone has a happy childhood. There are also many who have no tangible reminders of their youth. For the keeper of this object, childhood was not a whimsical time. She retains one item from the troubled past that structured, but does not define, who she is today.
Contributions by: Cameron Morissette
Select stories are available online now. Additional stories will be made available after the exhibition closes in March 2017.