Legos, deconstruction, and the vibe of broken expectations

Exploring how deconstruction's experiential and aesthetic elements might help frame a spiritual practice for partnering with others in seasons of doubt.

Our kids are deep in their Lego phase. In our house, this looks like our two kids playing very differently but working hard to learn how to build things, both with directions and through the use of their imaginations.

Our son, who is four at the time of writing, loves building and taking apart his various LEGO sets. He also enjoys the collaborative work of following the instructions, with some help finding the appropriate pieces. That’s is my role. He’s our ‘puzzle guy,’ and he loves the quiet work of building and rebuilding. Our six-year-old daughter doesn’t enjoy building the complex LEGO sets much, but she loves looking at the completed sets and keeping them as trophies of her accomplishments. Seems tranquil enough, right? Think again - this is dangerous territory.

Anyone who has a child in their life knows the beauty and the imminent danger of recently used Legos. There’s the obvious danger of stepping down on scattered Legos - that is awful, and I crumple when I do. It’s not good, …