Kintsugi is a form of Japanese art that I’ve recently come across and I absolutely love the ideology. Instead of throwing out broken pottery, it’s put back together with a precious metal like gold. Why is this so meaningful? Because it represents the notion that something broken can be mended and its imperfections make it all the more unique, beautiful and strong.
To me this is very symbolic of mental illness and recovery. We may feel ‘broken’ but it doesn’t ruin us. We can put ourselves back together and become even stronger for it. The gold can represent our growth and everything we learn and discover in our journey of personal ‘repair’. The end result is a unique and perfectly imperfect being that’s been mended and fortified for the future.
I also take it to represent how life often does crack our personal pottery but it’s up to us to keep living and moving forward by filling in the cracks. We are always in a state of flux; of growth and development. Above all though … we are never beyond repair!
