- Susan L Daniels, "Kintsugi" (January 10, 2013)The bowl we wheeled, fired, and glazed
when broken, became the metaphor for us;
a shining heaviness on my lap,
unfit for water or fruit
fusing again, what rejoins
is no longer flawed, but deeper;
our story, refired to epic
by gold veins running through
a clay that melds with grace inside heat
that everyday us
becoming something precious
only after breaking.
12 comments:
Kintsugi can relate to the Japanese philosophy of "no mind" (無心 mushin?) which encompasses the concepts of non-attachment, acceptance of change and fate as aspects of human life.[10]
“ Not only is there no attempt to hide the damage, but the repair is literally illuminated... a kind of physical expression of the spirit of mushin....Mushin is often literally translated as “no mind,” but carries connotations of fully existing within the moment, of non-attachment, of equanimity amid changing conditions. ...The vicissitudes of existence over time, to which all humans are susceptible, could not be clearer than in the breaks, the knocks, and the shattering to which ceramic ware too is subject. This poignancy or aesthetic of existence has been known in Japan as mono no aware, a compassionate sensitivity, or perhaps identification with, [things] outside oneself. ”
—Christy Bartlett, Flickwerk The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics
I really like this. :-) I don't quite relate to complete non-attachment, but I love the idea of accepting the flaws as part of the inherent beauty of a thing.
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It's how I feel about mys life. The things that broke me (psychic break/ cancer) have made me, IMO, a better person. :)
I hadn't heard the term until yesterday, when trying to figure out what the video was "about". Apparently the band, "Death Cab for Cutie" was breaking up, yet the members stayed together to complete the album. One of the band members was also married to an actress, and they two were breaking up. The name of the album was Kintsugi, and so I did a little research.
Accept the things you cannot change, change what you can, and pray for the wisdom to know the difference. That's all there is to it.
In reality we have no choice other than madness or antisocial aggression neither of which has desirable consequences for anyone involved.
"Ah! Sweet mystery of life at last I've found thee"
Indeed. ;)
It's how I feel about mys life.
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I agree completely!
:-)
Amor fati.
Exactly!
It seems to me though that the old adage ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ shouldn’t be confused with amor fati. Those who’ve overcome tremendous adversity, be it in the form of life-threatening disease or some other existential threat, are hardly accepting of their fate. Au contraire, it’s the tremendous (and very laudable) uphill struggle that made them stronger (as well as survive), not fatalism, which would likely have destroyed them permanently.
It's also one thing to attempt to plaster over or deny those struggles, and quite another to "gild" and then exhibit them, point to the "good" that came of them, rather than resent.
YUP! Making a Holy Show one's assumed virtue, courage and strength of character is just another form of Vanity whose main purpose is to make others feel inferior.
" ... Love vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up ..."
The struggle to stay alive and make the best of undesirable circumstances must largely remain interior. True virtue and admirable courage are best demonstrated in the way victims of a hideous plight maintain their love for others and demonstrate active concern for their welfare, despite personal anguish and deprivation.
True strength is derived from striving ever to enlarge our capacity for compassion and service to those less fortunate than we –– no matter how bad we may feel at any given time.
Rarely does this come "naturally;" such virtue must be cultivated sedulously through determined exercise of self-discipline. Yet when it comes, it is only by the Grace of God.
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