Kintsugi

Kintsugi, or Kintsukuroi, as I understand it, is a Japanese concept/technique that describes the process of using gold to mend the broken pieces back together. In doing so, the pot (literal or metaphorical) is more beautiful for having been broken and damaged now repaired.

I was in college when I first came across this concept. Listening to one of my podcasts (I was a total nerd and spent my days of being a college quarterback with headphones in listening to podcasts between class, practice, etc.) I remember how impactful it was. At that time, I knew I had broken. I was 22 maybe, and on the other side of a bit of a mess - one where I took it on the chin and got up, but not without some real damage. I carried that burden pretty heavy, thinking that I'm early 20s and already broken? Quite a bit of self-punishment and regret, doubt, etc.

But to be more beautiful for having broken and being mended back together - that changed my perspective in an instant. Didn't fix me - no way! But opened my mind to the process of mending. It's stayed with me for the past several years and become a pretty core piece of how I see myself and how I see the world.

In more recent times, I've started to think about this as it relates to my running attempt at a hypothesis of life (see Misfit Benchmark of Self).