How The Japanese Art of ‘Kintsugi’ Can Help You Heal
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold — here’s how you can benefit from its lessons.
In Japan, broken objects are often repaired with gold — an art form known as Kintsugi. The artist will mend the areas of breakage with a liquid mixed with gold, silver or platinum, creating a design from the breakage.
The breaks in the pottery are seen as a unique part of its history, adding to its beauty. Rather than trying to hide these flaws, the art form embraces them. Every imperfection contributes to the strength and character of the pottery — their highlighted scars add value.
From this art form concept, there’s a message we can all benefit from — a metaphor of sorts. In the process of repairing what has been broken, we can create something stronger, add to its existing character and beauty. Something that is broken isn’t something that should be thrown away. Those chips are, in fact, an opportunity.
I, myself, first came across Kintsugi in a bid to find a new hobby following a messy breakup. I didn’t actually end up learning the skill but I did learn from it. Its relevance to the situation I had found myself in at the time was undeniable so it felt only natural to further investigate…
