Kintsugi a Philosophy for Life

Kintsugi a Philosophy For Life

Kintsugi gives us a philosophy for life. Kintsugi is an ancient Japanese art, dating back to the 1400s, of fixing broken pottery. At the time Japanese craftsmen were asked to find a more aesthetically pleasing way to fix a broken tea bowl. The craftsmen started to used gold to bond the broken pieces together. This drew attention to the breaks making them the most important part of the piece itself. Please click here to see a video on Kintsugi and the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery. 

The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.
Earnest Hemingway

Kintsugi, literarily translated means “golden joinery,” it is both an art form and an encouragement to embrace our imperfections and their beauty. Something can break and still be beautiful, and when it has been repaired can be stronger at the places it is broken, just like a broken bone, heals stronger.

In Kintsugi: Finding Strength in Imperfection. Celine Santini, says that Kintsugi “has to do with the symbolism of healing and resilience. First taken care of and then honoured, the broken object accepts its past and paradoxically becomes more robust, more beautiful and more precious than before it was broken.”

I love this way of seeing the world and ourselves, not hiding our scars not feeling ashamed of who we are but being our true selves. These are the lessons that I take away from the practice of Kintsugi, authenticity, integration, celebration, strength, progress and kindness.

And she always had a way with her brokenness. She would tae her pieces and make them beautiful
r.m. drake

This philosophy allows us to be our authentic self, not to hide who we are but to celebrate it and integrate it into our whole being. At the broken places, the joins heal stronger making us stronger overall. Our golden joinery shows where we have made progress and how we have grown changed and re-formed. It helps us to embrace change and again integrate it into ourselves. Kintsugi also teaches us that kindness is key, self-compassion is invited instead of judgement, to recognise the beauty in our imperfections we must have compassion for ourselves.

If you are searching for how to be your own Kintsugi, then counselling might be able to help you as a place to explore your cracks and flaws and how you might heal them. I work in Kingswinford and Birmingham. I also work online and on the phone. Currently due to COVID I am only working online and on the phone. I work in the daytime and at the weekend. Up to date information on my fees can be found here.

To make an appointment with me Call me on 07843 813537. Please leave a message if I can’t answer your call and I’ll call you back as soon as possible. If you have any other questions or enquiries please call or send me a message by completing the online enquiry form.

There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.
Leonard Cohen

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