Kintsukuroi

Kintsukuroi is the Japanese art of repairing cracked pottery with gold, silver or platinum lacquer in an attempt of making what was once broken, beautiful. Besides being a craft, it is also a philosophy incorporated into Japanese culture. This philosophy centralizes around the simple idea that an object having been broken does not entail the end of its value. Instead, the damage and repair is put into the spotlight, aggrandized, and made eye-catching. The result is not only a charming ceramic, but also an embodiment of what it means to be hurt, healed, and return stronger than before.

The essence of this philosophy is uncomplicated, but if analyzed, it may be found there are several layers of the same theme healing. Too often, I was ashamed of my scars and hastily hid them from the public eye, believing that every visible imperfection repelled those around me. For what is a scar but a reminder of pain? However, I learned that Kintsukuroi counters this and asks me, what is a scar but a reminder of what you have survived? Having survived the worst is beautiful in itself the gold used reflects this. It encouraged me to never be ashamed of my history, regardless of whether it has been tainted by hardships. Every aspect of myself, I realized, is worthy of love and acceptance, including and maybe most especially that of which has been broken and mended. The pain that I cowered under before has now become a harmless mark on my body and made me a stronger person. Through my suffering, came my strength.

Persistence is also shown in this Japanese art. The people Ive encountered are continually working toward his or her own goals; experiencing fulfillment in life is seen as one of the main reasons for living. Achievement is labored for, and many are scrambling to reach their own personal standards for success in work or school. For others, like myself, it was only a matter of surviving the day, then the week, then the year. The human range for achievements is endless. Nevertheless, aspirations in life require hard work, perseverance and a certain mindset. There were and still are - times when I felt I had had enough of life and doubted the value of going on. Those were the times when I felt myself collapsing under the weight of my own existence. So I collapsed, and I came to learn only recently that giving up at times is only human again and again, but the equally amazing and infuriating thing about the human race is that it is stubborn and we do all we can to survive. Having accepted my defects and given some time, I was able to pick up my mess-of-a-self and mend it back into one (still) working piece. The road to recovery is not a smooth, paved one. It is uphill and full of boulders to overcome. But as I travel further and further down that road, I know that my body will be stronger, my mind will broader, and my soul will be healthier.

In A Farewell To Arms, Ernest Hemingway said, The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. This mindset is parallel to that of the Kintsukuroi philosophy. This quote brings importance to the fact that each person experiences misery in life and many are able to destroy what once destroyed them, and become immune to the past difficulty.

It was easy for me to believe I was not strong enough, and perhaps in the beginning I was not. Pain, misfortunes, drawbacks, and cracks in my ceramic hindered me from progressing, but in the end I found these were ultimately what strengthened me. I learned it was all right to give in to my destruction, as long as I rose again knowing that the gold in my scars were a reminder of my growing strength.