More Beautiful For Having Been Broken

Jason Newton
Sep 6, 2018 · 1 min read

How damaged ceramics can help us to be more positive and stronger

I was recently reading about Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing pottery. Other than being aesthetically pleasing and delicately minimal, what caught my eye about it is the underlying motivation behind it.

Gold or silver lacquer is used in the repair process on the understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.

Isn’t that a lovely thought?

Although it may not be easy to see, painful experiences that we go through can help us to be more ‘beautiful’ people in time. There is light at the end of the tunnel. And in fact, we could be even more ‘beautiful’ having been through the experience in the first place.

I like to think of ‘beautiful’ here as being more positive, happier and stronger for having been through a painful experience and ideally, learning from it to help myself and others be more ‘beautiful’ in their lives and communities.

So, what would happen if you were a broken bowl? Could you be kintsugi?

Could you see yourself and could we see each other as being more beautiful for having come out the other side after having been broken?

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Jason Newton

Written by

I write about life, travelling, living in Spain as a foreigner, music and poetry. Taking some time out from Medium at the moment.

Publishous

Discover tomorrow’s bestsellers today. You'll say you knew them when.

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