Repurpose Your Pain -

The Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi celebrates the transience and imperfection of life.

It sees beauty where we see ugliness. Detour where we see a cul-de-sac. And from it derives the concept of Kintsukuroi – A word which urges us to accept failings and extend grace to ourselves and others.

Kintsukuroi profoundly challenges our grasp of aesthetics. In a world where damaged and ageing are shamed, kintsugi takes broken pottery and instead of tossing them away like rubbish, restructures them with gold. That simple process ushers in a new life while still celebrating the old.

In a recent post, see here, I wrote about the incident with my Champ. In the paragraph where I said the thoughts crisscrossed my mind, one thing I omitted from there was the type of thoughts. They were negative thoughts that included hurling the flower vase at him as I stood at the door that morning.

However, maybe because I am not one given to theatrics or simply because of my high emotional quotient, I always run a cost-benefit analysis before I react in any situation irrespective of how hot it seems at that moment.

Ironically, that is not to say I do not admire those who damn every consequence and give vent to their emotions. I truly do. And have spent most of my life wishing I could be that drama queen who goes berserk and leaves chaos in her wake.

And so it was that morning, after picking up the pieces of fallen leaves, I tossed them into the bin. Then later I would hear

“go pick them up”

I hesitated of course.

“of what use were they to me?”

“they self-propagate”

Immediately, it hit me. In my temporary anger, I had forgotten that uniqueness of the plant. I then went into the bin, picked them up and right away plunked them into available vessels.

Today, I look at the plants I initially discarded as Refuse and chuckle at the abundance of new life.

I could sell them and make money or simply chose to bless my circles with it. It is a reminder of my cancer journey. I recall railing at God after the diagnosis and asking him to simply kill me right away because I was not ready to deal with any more drama. Like the leaves I tossed in the bin, God could have granted my wish and I would not be here grinning as I write this.

Moreso, I could have incurred an irreparable human or material damage with the remnant of the plant, if I had not activated my left brain.

Kintsugi therefore, encourages us to repurpose the fragments of our disappointments into something new which could become more beautiful over time. We could challenge our expectations and find value if we breathe in enough to sift through the rubbish pile of our brokenness.

As you pick up the pieces and try to put them back, what you are left with may look ugly to you in your grief. But as time passes, the flaws may not fade away only you can highlight them by carving a new art out of it. The value of which might even be greater than what you lost.

And with that new thing, you can impact someone else.