Kintsugi : Rising above brokenness. Overcoming to become
Kintsugi, also known as Kintsukuroi, is the traditional Japanese art that uses precious metal like liquid gold, liquid silver, or liquid platinum or lacquer dusted with precious metal to repair broken pottery by repairing or putting together the broken pieces making it more beautiful and stronger. This lengthy process requires a skilled artist and it actually makes the pottery more beautiful then it was before it broke. It enhances the value of the pottery.
Kintsugi resonates to me very well because I believe that as a human when we are born, we are like that perfect piece of pottery, whole and complete with great hidden potential and then as we grow up situations in our life hit us like a hammer hitting that perfect piece of pottery. A child on an average hears the word ”NO” almost 400 times a day. From personal experience, I can say that sometimes our well-wishers are the ones who hurt our self-esteem the most because they have their own limitations to overcome. Blows in life come in any form, from anyone or from any situation, and like that hammer which breaks the pottery, they break us apart. To name a few, it can be in the form of rejection from someone or betrayal or loss of job or loss of relationship or loss of the most precious person in our life. We, humans, bear these blows several times during our journey. If we introspect, even though these situations break us apart they are also an instrument of the change. If we allow, these situations of life can help us to break apart from our old way of thinking and evolve into something better.
Just like the skilled artist who uses precious metal and glue to put the pieces of pottery together, we must learn from the blows of life and put ourselves together so that we can overcome to become the one which we are destined to become. The glue in our situation can be that special friend or a special person in our life who becomes our guide or coach and holds us together, provides us the support, and sees our hidden potential even when we are at our rock bottom. In our situation, the newfound strength is that precious metal which enhances the beauty of the pottery. When one door of opportunity closes on us, God opens another one. Yes, there is no rush to put the broken pieces together. We all should give ourselves time to grieve on the loss or the damage but at some point, we ought to develop the strength and courage so that we can gather the shattered pieces and glue them together to rise above our brokenness. Even during the downtime, God will never leave us and will always show us the way but we are the ones who will need to act. We can either choose to just sit and cry over the brokenness or we can choose to put ourselves together to become stronger and wiser.
To me, Kintsugi is the art of embracing our brokenness or our wounds and becoming stronger. Personally, I have been hammered several times by situations and people in my life which has shattered me into pieces but at the same time, I have learned the art of forgiveness, patience, unconditional love, and unconditional acceptance which is my precious metal and it has helped me heal my wounds. Life has proven to me that no human is perfect and not to expect perfection from an imperfect human. Hammer in my life has shown me how much strength and wisdom I have. I am blessed by my glue which held me together, my family, a few guides, and loyal friends who have provided me the support and guidance. They taught me to forgive, be patient, and develop confidence in myself. I learned that I am enough and I am capable. They patiently waited for me to overcome my hurdles. They picked me up, provided me the tools to identify my inner genius, and given me an environment to grow so that I can reach my fullest potential.
These days the majority of us are hit by the hammer in our lives and are trying to make sense of what is going on. We are sitting here with the broken pieces of our lives trying to figure out ways to survive. I am urging you all to learn the art of Kintsugi, find your glue, your guide, or mentor and learn to put yourself together so that you can come out as a stronger and wiser individual. Instead of crying over your brokenness, I challenge you to make something more beautiful out of it. Overcome your challenges to become the one you were destined to be so that you can shine through your brokenness just like that precious metal.