Gold can be hidden everywhere.
So a couple of months ago, during a public speaking event, while listening to a very bad speaker, I heard for the first time about Kintsugi, the Japanese tradition, celebrated for centuries, of "upcycling" chipped pottery and vases with... golden glue.
Instead of throwing those "broken" pieces away, the Japanese artisans were able to embrace the concept of wabi-sabi, or finding beauty in all things and phases of life, without looking for perfection and completeness, and to transform those damaged objects into even more appreciated and beautiful pieces, special and unique, definitely more valuable because of their imperfections and "breaks" and not despite them.
[Modern reinterpretation of Kintsugi
by Robert Puro, talented artist based in New Mexico
Image credit: Puro Kintsugi: From Broken to Beautiful]
How can this relate to you?
Which cracks and breaks made out of you the person you are today?
All beautiful things carry distinctions of imperfections. Your wounds and imperfections are your beauty. [...] Your wounds and healing are a part of your history; a part of who you are. Every beautiful thing is damaged.
Bryant MgGill
How much pain, suffering, loneliness have you experienced, without letting them break you for good?
How many doubts, struggles, bad moments, crisis, and even traumata did you overcome?
You are a wonderful Kintsugi piece, like me. Like your loved ones. Like everyone else.
Are you proud of your scars, either visible - like surgical ones or also more or less beautiful tattoos - or invisible and yet very present?
How are you going to shine, while showing the golden streams that keep all of your pieces together, through thick and thin?
This one is for Julia.
Tags: Kintsugi, Celebrating imperfection, Wabi-sabi, Bryant McGill, Meaning of scars
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