Hello lovely human,
Kintsugi (golden joinery), also known as Kintsukuroi (golden repair) is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer mixed with gold, silver or platinum. It treats the breakages as a highlight acknowledging the piece’s history rather than something to hide. We humans can learn from this.
As humans, all of us have had and will have breakdowns. It’s how we get to other side, it’s the “repair,” that counts. Breakdowns can look like times of effort, stress, despair, anger, loneliness or resentment. Our culture puts a lot of pressure on making the outside look good to where people may want to hide difficulties or imperfections.
I have hidden my imperfections, my breakdowns, from relationships believing “if they only knew the real me” they’d leave. Today I have made peace with myself. I have done enough repair of self that when my tension accidentally overflows affecting another, I am not afraid to go to them and make any reparation needed. Relationships get stronger and more beautiful, like Kintsugi (golden joinery) pottery, not from hiding or pretending but from the repair.
Acknowledging moments when our calm breaks, when you’ve hurt someone or slid into an old pattern of self-blaming or shaming, hurting yourself. Don’t ignore, hide or pretend nothing happened. Try saying this to yourself… “It is what it is, what’s next?” Then clear, ground and hold space for yourself. Repair thy-self. Acknowledging, like Kintsugi art where the breakage to repair is literally illuminated as a beautiful part of the piece’s history, acknowledge that you are perfectly imperfect. As is everyone else.
I’d love to see you in person where we can share more philosophy while hiking and doing a little yoga in the majestic mountains of Switzerland! Please join me and Drishti Journeys this September Click here!
With joy in sharing,
Tina