The Art of Repair

Image: Shutterstock/Jorm S

When we think of repair we typically think of obscuring damage or imperfection in the process. However, a centuries old Japanese method called Kintsugi does the opposite. Through Kintsugi, broken pottery is fixed with a combination of lacquer and precious metal, transforming the damage and giving it special meaning. An object to be discarded is instead elevated with beauty and story.

Kintsugi, however, is not a trivial practice of repair and beautification: on a deeper level it challenges our assumptions on the concept of damage. First, it says that repair can be transformative and, second, that imperfection is in the eye of the beholder. In Kintsugi, we don’t see damage; we see shimmering, organic features that signify warmth and dedication.

How might we employ the spirit of Kintsugi into our lives? James Hillman, in The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling, says that our interior damage is material for a life rich in depth and experience. Without affliction, we are, quite frankly, boring. So let’s infuse beauty and story into parts of the self that we wish to obscure or “fix”. Let’s be shimmery and organic. Let’s exude warmth by lightly embracing all our parts and honoring our capacity.