Our attention is easily drawn to an object or a person that is attractive and lovely. We ooh and aah because of our gift of sight to appreciate the beauty of life. To our minds, beauty is looked upon as perfection. If it is not beautiful or attractive, it is imperfect and as such, not worthy of our time or attention.
Beauty is relative, hence the saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What Mark finds attractive may be able ugly or unattractive to Jane. What if such beauty is tainted by a spot or a crack? Does the object of attraction lose its beauty and consequently, the attention?
This brings me to the word Kintsugi. This is a Japanese word that gives beauty another meaning and how it relates to us. Kintsugi means golden joinery or repair. It is an art of mending broken pottery or ceramics with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum.
When a beautiful China plate or ware cracks or breaks, it is not just thrown away because it has lost its beauty or perfection but rather, the crack(s) is fixed with lacquer. In Japanese society, the ware or object is regarded as more beautiful and highly valued than it was before because of the repairs and designs on it.
The theory surrounding the Kintsugi art is that in the late 15th century, shogun (military dictator) Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a broken Chinese tea bowl back to China for repairs. The bowl was sent back repaired with ugly metal staples. It is said this may have prompted the Japanese craftsman to look for a more aesthetic means of repair. The final output was so beautiful that some people broke their China wares on purpose just to get the lacquer designs on them.
Kintsugi is not only an art but also a philosophy that treats cracks and repairs as part of an object's history rather than something to be hidden.
This same philosophy applies to us. Life has dealt us some blows, making us appear broken in some parts of our lives. For some, it is physical while for others it might be emotional or mental. Some persons have been judged as imperfect because of these cracks. We have been limited from reaching our full potential by these cracks.
Then we have those who have embraced the Kintsugi way of life and regarded their cracks as part of themselves, as inspirational, connoting beauty in broken things. Rather than hide their cracks or perceived 'ugliness', they choose to embrace it and be a shining light to others.
Christy Bartlett, in her article remarked on the beauty of Kintsugi thus,
Not only is there no attempt to hide the damage, but the repair is literally illuminated…
In essence, it is the mended crack(s) or scar that makes us beautiful because we choose to show them off, rather than hide them.
Rather than be in the circle of those who judge others as imperfect because of their cracks, how about we be the 'lacquer' that glues the crack together and mends the ware. How about we be the powdered gold mixed with the lacquer that appears as designs on the ware, making it more valuable.
Your imperfections make you unique.
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