Too often we berate ourselves for moments of weakness, old wounds we can’t let go, and the inability to process and move through pain. What if instead of seeing our flaws as unseemly scars that mark us as “damaged for good” we were able to see the cracks and wounds as the things that give us character and show our strength in the face of adversity. I am mesmerized by the Japanese art form known as Kintsukuroi. It is the process by which cracked pottery is repaired by filling in the broken joints with gold or silver lacquer – many believe making the piece even more beautiful and unique. The philosophy focuses on the breakage and repair becoming an important part of the object’s history opposed to an unfixable blemish.
We are all chipped and broken in some way. Life leaves none of us unscathed. Imagine what it would feel like to have someone hold you in the palm of their hand, buff the cracked edges of the hardships you have experienced – the heartaches, the lovelessness, the anger, and shame – and to fill those chips and cracks with a shiny golden salve that says, “I was broken. I will always be changed. And now I am made new.” This week I will try to see the beauty in the cracks and flaws, both in myself and others. Will you do the same?
Love this post, Lindley! Thank you.
Eloquently empowering.