The Value of Being Broken

I had a discussion with someone recently who was going through some tough times. The last few months were difficult and left him feeling broken in a number of ways. Things did not end up the way he had hoped. I can relate having experienced some more than rough patches in the past.

I explained to him that it’s my belief that everyone becomes broken at least once in their life. Sometimes due to relationships, other times abuse or random tragedy. Some people are broken many times over in a lifetime.

I then shared with him the story of the Japanese art of Kintsugi in which broken ceramics are repaired using gold. The broken ceramics are not discarded. Instead they are reassembled, glued together with resin and then the cracks are filled with gold dust. The end result becomes something more valuable than it was previously.

My message, being broken by something in life is not a reason to feel diminished, destroyed or otherwise void of value. It’s instead an opportunity to grow and become even better than before. Something that may not have been possible had you not been broken by the experiences of life.