Excerpt from Life is Messy by Matthew Kelly:
The Japanese have a beautiful artform called Kintsugi. It is a form of ceramic, and I have
been meditating on it for the past several years. In our disposable culture, if we break a
vase or a bowl, we throw it away and buy a new one. This simple act allows us to maintain
the illusion that life is not messy. It plays into our delusion of perfection. But life is messy,
perfect is a myth, and the wisdom of the Japanese art of Kintsugi has much to teach us.
When a vase or bowl or cup is broken, artists gather up the broken pieces and glue them
back together. Though it is how they put them back together that is steeped in wisdom
and beauty. They mix gold dust with the glue. They don’t try to hide the cracks. They
own them, honor them, even accentuate them by making them golden. They celebrate the
cracks as part of their story.
This is a beautiful lesson. They don’t pretend the vase was never broken. They don’t
pretend that life is not messy. They don’t pretend they are not broken. When we pretend
to be someone other than who we are, our true self hides in fear and shame; the fear of
being discovered and the shame of not being enough.
The most beautiful and surprising lesson the Kintsugi artform teaches us is this: We are
each other’s wounded healers. We each possess the gold dust needed to glue other people
back together, making them more beautiful and loveable than ever. Our love, connection,
acceptance, generosity, community, and kindness are that gold dust. This is astoundingly
profound.
Someone who has been broken and healed can be more beautiful, and more loved, than
ever before. Embracing this truth is liberating. But it is easier to do once we realize it’s
okay to be broken. It’s normal, in fact—part of the human condition. Once we embrace
this truth, we are on the path of hope. When we reject it, we are on the road to despair.
Can someone who has been broken be healed and become more beautiful and more
lovable than ever before? This is the central question in our journey together. I am
convinced the answer to the question is yes.
Art exercise:
Pick up the pieces of a broken plate or bowl. Use glue mixed with gold glitter
and piece it back together to create your own Kintsugi art. Be mindful that the
glued broken areas will become a pattern to be celebrated not hid. There is no
perfection here, but only perfection found in imperfection.
been meditating on it for the past several years. In our disposable culture, if we break a
vase or a bowl, we throw it away and buy a new one. This simple act allows us to maintain
the illusion that life is not messy. It plays into our delusion of perfection. But life is messy,
perfect is a myth, and the wisdom of the Japanese art of Kintsugi has much to teach us.
When a vase or bowl or cup is broken, artists gather up the broken pieces and glue them
back together. Though it is how they put them back together that is steeped in wisdom
and beauty. They mix gold dust with the glue. They don’t try to hide the cracks. They
own them, honor them, even accentuate them by making them golden. They celebrate the
cracks as part of their story.
This is a beautiful lesson. They don’t pretend the vase was never broken. They don’t
pretend that life is not messy. They don’t pretend they are not broken. When we pretend
to be someone other than who we are, our true self hides in fear and shame; the fear of
being discovered and the shame of not being enough.
The most beautiful and surprising lesson the Kintsugi artform teaches us is this: We are
each other’s wounded healers. We each possess the gold dust needed to glue other people
back together, making them more beautiful and loveable than ever. Our love, connection,
acceptance, generosity, community, and kindness are that gold dust. This is astoundingly
profound.
Someone who has been broken and healed can be more beautiful, and more loved, than
ever before. Embracing this truth is liberating. But it is easier to do once we realize it’s
okay to be broken. It’s normal, in fact—part of the human condition. Once we embrace
this truth, we are on the path of hope. When we reject it, we are on the road to despair.
Can someone who has been broken be healed and become more beautiful and more
lovable than ever before? This is the central question in our journey together. I am
convinced the answer to the question is yes.
Art exercise:
Pick up the pieces of a broken plate or bowl. Use glue mixed with gold glitter
and piece it back together to create your own Kintsugi art. Be mindful that the
glued broken areas will become a pattern to be celebrated not hid. There is no
perfection here, but only perfection found in imperfection.
