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Ladies & gentlemen, from the depths of my duvet, wrapped around a christmas-y hot water bottle, I bring you a beautiful concept that originated in 15th century Japan. Never have I felt so moved by something that I simply couldn't rest until I'd shared it with you...but here we are.
I present to you; Kintsugi. The art of embracing damage and the appreciation of brokenness. Essentially, when a piece of china was broken, if the owner could afford such luxuries, the pieces would be sent to a joiner who would piece it back together. However, instead of using resin, or paste, the joiner would use gold to hold together the reassembled piece, thus highlighting the ghost of damage. The art of kintsukuori highlights how beautiful healing is. The metaphor of all of us having been broken at some point, or feeling lost and without hope- but celebrating how beautiful these scars have made us...It swells my heart.
The art's philosophy has similarities to the Japanese philosophy by the name of wabi-sabi, which encourages and praises the embracing of flaws. It also encompasses the beauty of an object growing as it is used- and it needing to be repaired is the ultimate sign of beauty, as it has been used alot, thus has lived alot. Essentially, the philosophy is telling us that the scars of experiences we gain from life make us more beautiful, because we have lived. And that in itself is a wonderful thing.
Not only are examples of kintsugi absolutely gorgeous, but they're an incredible reminder that we are all only human. And instead of hiding away our cracks and breaks, it's a shining example of why we should wear these scars with pride. Because they are beautiful. As are we. We are more beautiful for having been broken, and reassembled, than to have never been broken at all.
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