It’s called Kintsugi. It’s a Japanese method for repairing broken ceramics using adhesive materials mixed with gold, silver, or platinum.
The idea behind kintsugi is to recognize and celebrate the history of an object. Rather than simply throw the piece away, or do one’s best to cover up the cracks and blemishes, kintsugi celebrates and highlights the broken pieces.
In our culture we, in most cases, would simply throw the shattered item away. With kintsugi the piece becomes far more valuable, interesting, and beautiful than it was originally. It has a story and it has character.
The same is true for us. We all have broken parts. Most of the time we do our very best to cover them up and not let others know about them. We often perceive that others have thrown us away and we have no value because of being broken.
It takes courage to let others know about our brokenness. If we are willing to explore our brokenness we can often find that we are far more valuable because of our brokenness
If you have read my blog before you know my father died very suddenly when I was 14. That’s a huge crack in my life that has caused a lot of pain over the years. A few years ago I had the opportunity to visit with two young men ages 14 and 17, almost the same ages as my older brother and I when our dad died, who had recently lost their dad very suddenly.
I was able to tell them what it was like to be a high school athlete and to come up out of the locker room after a game and see all my teammates being patted on the back by their dads telling them what a great job they did and rushing quickly to get outside. I was able to tell them about meeting new friends at college, sitting around eating pizza and getting to know each other. One of the first questions always seemed to be, “what does your dad do?” Answering that question was always awkward. I was able to tell them you’ll never get over it but the pain eases and you learn to cope and have a new normal.
There is value to others in the brokenness of losing my father at 14.
More recently, as a guy who lost his job and spent an extended period of time unemployed, I have been able to have conversations with many others who have experienced or are experiencing job loss or job transition.
There is value to others in the pain and shame of having to start over at 55.
What are your cracked places? Can you see the value in those cracks of your life?
Do you have the courage to share your damaged places with others? I’m not saying you have to shout it out to the world but just be ready to speak into the lives of those you encounter with new cracks in their vessel.
There is great value and beauty in your broken places. You have a better story and more character because of your broken places.
Do you have the courage to celebrate your brokenness?
Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!
Do you need a speaker for an upcoming event? I’d love to be that guy. You can reach me at dave@cultivatecourage.com or 952-200-7499.
You can now buy the book “Cultivate Courage” on Amazon! https://amzn.to/2BUrgJY
Dave, now being somewhat broken, this sure gives me cause to regroup and open myself to others, that they might also find courage to deal with health issues, or anything else they have been putting off in their lives!
You are so right, Craig! I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of “White Coat Syndrome” or not but it is a fear of going to the doctor. This is a particular fear of men. Men won’t say it’s a fear, they’ll just say there is nothing wrong with them and they don’t need to see a doctor. It goes back to our need to be tough guys and think nothing can ever hurt us.You know better from personal experience! I am sure you will make a difference in someone’s life, Craig, because of your brokenness!