Have you ever spent a day in the bed not wanting to get up and face the world? Or a feeling of remorse that everything in the universe is conspiring against us and that nothing is ever going to get better in our lives?

We all have been broken sometimes, and it can feel very disheartening — it could be due to getting fired from a job, a bad relationship, an argument with someone we cherish, or a failure at something we wanted to achieve so desperately. Such instances often break us, making us lose our self esteem and our confidence. We often lose all the hope of anything better happening in our life, and might even be going through the lowest point in our lives.

While all this can be very sad and demoralizing, there still could be a different way of looking at it.

May be, all the hardships that we are going through is just the universe’s way of challenging ourselves to be a better and more beautiful version of ourselves.

Often when we are broken, we have an opportunity to emerge beautifully — the essential philosophy of Japanese art form ‘Kintsugi’.

Kintsugi is a Japanese art form of joining broken pieces of pottery — an art form that involves joining all the discarded pieces, piece by piece, with a golden lacquer.

An art form that represents all broken things can be joined together to become an even better version of themselves, an art form that glorifies all our scars and imperfections, and an art form that demonstrates broken pieces when joined together are even more beautiful than the original artefact — Imperfect, yet so beautiful.

Broken pieces of cups and saucers, only worthy of being put to garbage, when joined together form a very fascinating artefact that enhances the very beauty of our living rooms. Similarly, all the individuals who rise from the lowest points in their lives, glorify the beauty of life.

While Kintsugi essentially refers to joining broken pieces of pottery, the underlying philosophy is equally applicable to all the human beings, and life in general.

I. Whatever is broken, can be joined together.

A cup might be broken into a thousand pieces, it can be joined back together, and so do all of us. However, demotivated and crestfallen we might be, we can still pull ourselves back together. There is no problem that does not have a solution.

All we need is to have the right motivation, the right environment and the right amount of time to achieve that.

II. Wear your scars proudly. It might be imperfect, but it makes us beautiful.

Our scars are a part of our story — a story that defines our history, a story that makes us unique, and a story that make us all the more beautiful. Hence, our scars are not to be hidden, but something to be showcased to the world. Finding beauty in imperfection is the essential philosophy of Kintsugi.

“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.” — Kathleen Tessaro

III. Find the golden lacquer that brings you back together.

We all need to find that glue that holds us back together — the golden lacquer that makes us beautiful.

Sometimes it can be our family and friends, or people we love, who help us navigate the worst of times, while others find solace in their work, or pick up a new skill/hobby.

Whatever may be the path, we need to channel our pain to emerge as a better version of ourselves.

IV. Handle with care — join yourself piece by piece.

Do not hurry — certain things take time. In the time of adversities, it is important to take good care of ourselves. We have to gather all the pieces and join ourselves, piece by piece. Remember this is a work of art! and all good artefacts take time.

Broken pieces needs to be handled with care. If handled properly, it can turn into a beautiful artefact. If not, it can cut you deep inside.

Things or human beings are often the same — we often get broken, needs to be repaired and handled with care. Kintsugi teaches us that however badly we might be broken, we can come back up again.

I have always believed that the purpose of life is to rise, fall and rise back again. The art of Kintsugi just happens to reinforce my belief.

The journey from a normal pottery vase to a million dollar artefact, requires us to get broken and rise from the ashes. Our failures and subsequent rise through our efforts make us all stronger, humbler and more beautiful.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this article. If you have come so far, please share your feedback/reflections in the comments. I read them all.

Please share your experience if you have ever felt broken, and how you dealt with it.

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