Broken

If the first step is admitting it, then here it goes – I’m broken. Smashed into a million pieces like Humpty Dumpty, I fell off the wall of love. More like pushed.

I can deny it. I can fight it. But, it’s not going to change. I’ve been broken. Hurt. Blindsided.

But, I don’t have to remain that way. I can be fixed and turned into something – someone – much better than before.

The Japanese have a method of fixing their broken pottery, turning it into something much more beautiful than the original. It’s called kintsugi. Legend has it that a Japanese shogun sent a damaged tea bowl back to China only to have it repaired with ugly metal staples, prompting the Japanese to find a way to not only return functionality, but also to provide worth and beauty.

So they reassembled the broken pottery with gold, silver, or platinum, allowing the brokenness to be illuminated and the focal beauty of the piece.

What I love most about this is that it means just because you’re broken doesn’t mean you’re worthless. In fact, people began breaking pottery and reassembling them in order to create the kintsugi. (Now, please don’t go and do this to people – that’s just cruel.) Pottery became more valuable after it had been through this process.

We, as people, are fragile. And we treat each other carelessly. Some hurt intentionally. Some hurt accidentally. But at the end of the day we’re all gonna hurt and be hurt. And there’s no use in hiding it. Our pain is unique. Pottery doesn’t break the same way, nor do people get hurt in the same way. Yet, we can repair ourselves and become priceless works of art.

So who cares if I’m broken? I can be fixed and mended. My self-worth is increasing. And I’m becoming a one of a kind, priceless piece of art.

~Sarah