Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using paint infused with precious metals such as gold and silver to create a new object of beauty. It’s not about repairing things in a way to cover perceived flaws but truly honoring the unique beauty of the new form. I was reminded of this tradition by my soul when I was recently working on embracing change.
One of the primary blocks to change is the tendency to compare the new with the old. If we hold any kind of attachment to what came before, we are holding judgment and resisting growth. Kintsugi represents a step beyond accepting change by seeing it as completely new, free of comparison with any other, and celebrating all of its unique attributes as wholly divine.
Marsha Hankins has written about this in several posts about The Parable of the Cracked Pot. A pot was carried daily by the water carrier to bring water to the master’s table but leaked half of its water each time due to a crack. Eventually, the pot’s shame about this deficiency caused it to speak up to the water carrier. The man replied by pointing out the beautiful flowers that lined the path where the leaking pot had watered them. The pot’s unique feature created its own kind of beauty in the world, different but no less divine.
The coming years will bring many shifts and changes in the outer world as we move into a new phase of the breakdown for breakthrough. If we hold onto what used to be or try to “return to normal”, we will experience these changes as struggle. If we focus on not just accepting these changes but truly celebrating the beauty of them as reflections of our next steps toward experiencing Oneness, we will know true Peace and Joy.
Are you ready to practice the art of Divine Beauty?