Some four or five centuries ago in Japan, a beautiful technique emerged for repairing broken ceramics. Artisans were using lacquer and gold pigment to put shattered vessels back together. This tradition is known as Kintsugi, which means “golden seams” (or kintsukuroi, “golden repair”), is still going strong today.
Kintsugi 金継ぎ – The School Of Life
The art of Kintsugi teaches us that our brokenness makes us stronger and more beautiful than before the suffering and pain. And in this brokenness, you can pick up the pieces, put them back together, and learn to embrace the beauty of the inevitable cracks.
This ancient Japanese technique teaches us a few important things ….
All of us suffer in life, it is an inevitable part of the journey. Things happen to us that can shatter the core of who we are and what is our life purpose. These challenging experiences have the capacity to break us and shatter everything we know to be true.
What if we borrowed the wisdom from the teachings of Kinstugi and shift the narrative around the actual suffering? This shift being a conscious choice to see our suffering as an opportunity. An opportunity to see the numbness and pain of the suffering as the “gold” that makes us stronger and more beautiful than before.
I encourage you to explore this possibility as you travel through your own suffering and brokenness and just notice how this shift in the narrative sits with you … and breathe.
Here is an amazing talk from Tara Brach which explores her concept of Radical Acceptance and seeing the gold in suffering.
Radical Acceptance – Our Gateway to Love and Freedom – Tara Brach
Enjoy and Safe Travels
Melanie
