Kintsugi
According to Wikipedia, Kintsugi (金継ぎ, "golden joinery"), also known as kintsukuroi (金繕い, "golden repair"), is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with urushi lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum; the method is similar to the maki-e technique. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
I have been thinking about this concept since the Pandemic to be honest. I thought about it when my college roommate lost her Dad to COVID, after he successfully had a heart transplant years prior and he was living quite well. I thought about it when my friend down the street lost her Mom to COVID. I thought about it when one of my best friends tragically lost her stepson on his 21st birthday. And now I think about it every single day, in terms of what it means to be Jewish.
Being Jewish is the embodiment of Kintsugi in human form.
The Jewish people who have been around for more than 3,500 years are evidence of a group of people who have continually pieced themselves back together - time and time again - only to become stronger than we were before.
But how?
Well, when you break and rebuild - you are stronger than before.
But how, you ask?
Because you are reinforced.
Kinda like when you do foundation work on your house… those pier and beams they put into the ground strengthen your foundation and anchor you into greater stability.
So even though you see cracks in the walls and your house is literally torn up for weeks at a time while they fix the foundation, the end result is a house that is stronger and more stable than before.
This is what it feels like to be Jewish right now - to be broken but to be the artist putting ourselves and our people back together again. And in this process, I feel my foundation being stabilized, reinforced & ultimately strengthened.
This concept of Kintsugi feels particularly potent right now in the world - when so many of us are feeling scared, horrified, angry and grieving, we need tools to resource and empower us.
Kintsugi could be one of those tools.
Some guiding questions for you:
In what ways do I feel broken right now?
What is it that ‘broke’ me?
What practices, relationships and environments will help me rebuild myself?
What relationships & environments do I need to let go of in order to protect myself?
How am I now or how WILL I become stronger because of the things that have broken me?
What is something I see in myself that could be perceived as a flaw but that I see as BEAUTIFUL?
And some beautiful words from Katheleen Tessaro to marinade on as we tiptoe into 2024:
"Kintsugi [is] not just a method of repair but also a philosophy. It’s the belief that the breaks, cracks, and repairs become a valuable and esteemed part of the history of an object, rather than something to be hidden. That, in fact, the piece is more beautiful for having been broken."
Cheers to repairing ourselves and our world.
Sending you love & peace,
Sondra
