On the Beauty of Brokenness

　

"In Japan there is a kind of reverence for the art of mending. In the context of the tea ceremony there is no such thing as failure or success in the way we are accustomed to using those words. A broken bowl would be valued precisely because of the exquisite nature of how it was repaired, a distinctly Japanese tradition of kintsugi, meaning to "to patch with gold". Often, we try to repair broken things in such a way as to conceal the repair and make it "good as new."
     "But the tea masters understood that by repairing the broken bowl with the distinct beauty of radiant gold, they could create an alternative to "good as new" and instead employ a "better than new" aesthetic. They understood that a conspicuous, artful repair actually adds value. Because after mending, the bowl’s unique fault lines were transformed into little rivers of gold that post repair were even more special because the bowl could then resemble nothing but itself. Here lies that radical physical transformation from useless to priceless, from failure to success. All of the fumbling and awkward moments you will go through, all of the failed attempts, all of the near misses, all of the spontaneous curiosity will eventually start to steer you in exactly the right direction."

Teresita Fernandez (sculptor)  See the full article at: http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/12/29/teresita-fernandez-commencement-address/

     Here, Fernandez is talking primarily about the art of creativity.   But I believe this is a wonderful analogy for the brokenness of ourselves.  Our very wounds and suffering can become, through patchwork healing, the most beautiful parts of ourselves.  Yes, the scars are visible for all to see, and yes, they may make others uncomfortable.  But I have always preferred the beauty of the artfully mended broken bowl, to the 'perfection' of the unbroken one.