Embracing the Cracks: Navigating Tension in Complex Times
The other day, I was talking to a particularly wise friend. I was lamenting that I didn’t know how to be in a world like this. Where people do inexplicable and despicable things, and the rest of us just look away. And he said … “Well, you’re here, aren’t you? You’re doing it.”
Our lives are lived in webs of tensions. This has always been so. Pulled between work and family, give and take, change and stability. Beautifully entangled. But recently, it started feeling less like dancing in that tangled web and more like being pulled apart. I suddenly felt like the fabric of my life was fraying at the edges.
When this happens and cracks start to form, it can leave us longing for simplicity, solutions, and escape. But what if these cracks hold the key to transformation? What if we leaned into them instead of resisting or trying to fix them as soon as they form?
What if these cracks are not failures but signals and invitations?
Cracks vs Doors: Bayo Akomolafe’s Invitation
When a crack appears in the mighty wall, the only thing scarier than letting it grow unbridled, the only thing more worrisome than allowing it to breathe, is sealing it up — for the thesis of the crack is to call into question the form we’ve assumed, the nobilities we cherish, the stories we assume to be true. The crack is the monster’s gift — a reminder that the fixity of the postures we take on often prove more dangerous than the threats we presume to withstand.
Bayo Akomolafe
Bayo Akomolafe views cracks as disruptions in established systems, offering opportunities for new possibilities to emerge. He contrasts “doors,” representing anticipated solutions within existing structures, with “cracks,” symbolising unanticipated ruptures that challenge and exceed current frameworks.
These cracks introduce unpredictability, pulling apart the illusions of control and creating openings for a more profound, richer complexity.
The Glitch in the Matrix: Noticing the Unravelling
In The Matrix, a glitch — a moment of déjà vu — signals a breach in the simulated reality, revealing that everything is not as it seems.
These glitches are gifts, allowing new perspectives and enabling us to respond with deeper awareness. They open a space where the familiar dissolves, inviting us to question the systems and stories that have shaped our understanding.
Leonard Cohen: Redemption Through the Cracks
In the song Anthem, Leonard Cohen sings:
“There is a crack, a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.”
These lyrics suggest that cracks are not merely places of disintegration but also illumination. They allow light to seep into the shadows.
When the tensions we hold create ruptures, they illuminate new paths forward. What seems broken becomes the possibility for renewal.
Weaving These Threads Together
When life feels fractured — when the systems we rely on falter or our internal and social landscapes become incoherent — it’s tempting to focus on fixing the cracks or keeping the web from rupturing.
What if the breaking of the web isn’t an end but a beginning? What might happen if we lean into the cracks and allow the web to unravel where it must? Perhaps this is needed to create space for the light to get in … for something new to emerge.
Bayo urges us to see cracks as sites of excess, where the overflow of possibility begins. The Matrix reminds us that glitches are signals to wake up, to see beyond the illusions we live within. And Cohen reassures us that light can find its way through even in the darkest moments.
Together, these perspectives invite us to reframe what we often view as “wrong” in our lives. The crack, the glitch, the imperfection — these aren’t signs of failure. They are invitations to engage with the unknown, to question, and to evolve.
Leaning Into the Cracks
What cracks or glitches are appearing in your life right now? Instead of rushing to mend them, what might happen if you sat with them, explored their edges, and considered what is seeking to emerge into the light?
Ultimately, the cracks in our stories, systems, and ourselves may not be the problem. They may be the way forward, the passage through which we find the light — and the courage to step into it.
Join us for a conversation about the cracks, glitches and tensions we are navigating together on 20 Nov 2025 at 15:00 CET.
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Anthem — Leonard Cohen
The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what has passed away
Or what is yet to beAh, the wars they will be fought again
The holy dove, she will be caught again
Bought and sold, and bought again
The dove is never freeRing the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets inWe asked for signs
The signs were sent
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
Yeah, and the widowhood
Of every government
Signs for all to seeI can’t run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up
A thundercloud
They’re going to hear from meRing the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets inYou can add up the parts
But you won’t have the sum
You can strike up the march
There is no drum
Every heart, every heart
To love will come
But like a refugeeRing the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets inRing the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets inThat’s how the light gets in
That’s how the light gets in
