Let us leave the last word to Théophile Gautier:
Such in the Landes of our world is the poet’s stance;
When he receives no wound, his treasure he’ll retain.
With such deep cut mankind his heart must also lance,
To make him spill his verse, his gold tears’ gushing rain!
What About You?
Are you ready to speak your mind and inspire hope?
It’s Time to Act!
The Testimony of Your Renaissance
Depending on your skills and your focus, find you own mode of self-expression to inspire and pass on hope to others.
So would you prefer to:
Have discussions with your friends about the subject?
Participate in a conference to debate the sufferings you have experienced?
Organize an exhibition of your challenges?
Write a book about your healing?
Organize a run to share energy with a group?
Create a piece of art that expresses your suffering?
Write a blog to share your experience?
Participate in a television broadcast to talk about the subject?
Create a club for people who have overcome similar traumas?
Organize a fair to raise public awareness of a problem?
Raise funding through charity events dedicated to this cause?
Set up a stand-up comedy show about the subject?
Produce a video or movie about your sufferings and how you overcame them?
Write a song to sublimate your ordeals?
And so on . . .
Go Further . . .
Inspire and motivate others so that they speak their minds too.
Start Here and Now!
Choose the media that appeals to you most, pick up the phone, write a first line, send the first e-mail, grab a paintbrush, take out your camera . . .
Conclusion
Open
jinsei wa fuuzen no tomoshibi
Life is a candle before the wind.
—Japanese proverb
Don’t demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well.
—Epictetus
The art of kintsugi invites you to let go and to accept the impermanence of things. It teaches us to remain open to the unexpected, to imperfection, to serendipity, and coincidences . . . Japanese philosophy refers to this as mushin no shin, which means “thought without thought” (mu: “nothing/empty,” shin: “heart/spirit”), calling to let things go.
As such, kintsugi is a great metaphor of our existence: The wheel turns, and life is unpredictable! Happiness and sadness, joy and sorrow, pleasure and stress, everything changes and evolves. Perfection and permanence are an illusionary trap. One can fight neither time nor change . . .
Now may be the time to detach . . . Could you have been able to predict all that has happened to you since you were born? Or at least during the last ten years or maybe even last year? Sometimes things turn out badly . . . and sometimes they turn out better than expected!
Could I have predicted, when I wrote my first tale at the age of six, that I had already found my true calling? When I was twelve, dreaming like all little girls, gazing at my mother’s makeup, that I would realize my dream working for L’Oréal ten years later? When I was fifteen and addicted to fragrances, that I would be working with the greatest perfumers on the planet? When I turned twenty, attending a business school, that I would start my own company a few years later? When I was twenty-five and meeting my husband, that I would divorce him ten years later? When I turned twenty-six and got married, that I would be organizing and even celebrating other people’s weddings? At thirty-five, after my divorce, having moved across the hall from my mother, that a year later I would be the one to discover her lifeless body? At thirty-nine, just when I had adjusted to my new life as a single mother, that I would marry one year later a high school friend I hadn’t seen in twenty years?
When I turned forty, pregnant, getting married, happy again, that I would divorce one year later? And that at forty-one I would discover my real passion and true calling in the art of kintsugi that carried me to where I am today? So I don’t fight it anymore; I let myself be surprised: Life, sometimes cruel and ironic, often gentle and well meaning, certainly has more imagination than I do. What new surprises does it hold for me?
Yes, life can turn things upside down in a day, minute, or second, one way or the other. Rather than burst through doors like a ram, I am encouraging you to let yourself be surprised: Sometimes a side door opens . . .
But I also invite you to remove your protective shield and armor. Do not put all of your treasures in a safe or at the bottom of a cabinet to protect them against inadvertent damage. On the contrary, savor and use them every day to give them a chance to be in touch with reality.
Maybe they will be broken by accident indeed. But only to become even more precious once covered and healed with gold . . .
Give life a chance to transform you: Take the Kintsugi-do, the Way of Kintsugi . . .
The Symbolism of the Cherry Blossom
Every spring, the Japanese celebrate Hanami, the cherry blossom (sakura) festival. This event is so popular that the weather channel even broadcasts the bloom forecast day by day!
These cherry trees are an ornamental variety and do not produce fruit. They exist only to be beautiful, without having any other function.
Full of elegance and rare splendor, they take your breath away. During a short two-week period, the trees lose their blossoms while blowing in the wind, shedding their delicate white and pink petals. This is an invitation to serene contemplation of life, its beauty, its short duration, and its fleeting happiness.
The wind that disperses each petal reminds us that nothing is permanent. Every moment, no matter how perfect, is only ephemeral. Enjoy it to the fullest . . .
Playlist of the Kintsugi Spirit
To enhance your healing process with music, here is a very eclectic list of songs filled with the spirit of kintsugi. These range from grand classical pieces to classic rock, from Beethoven to the Beatles, with pop music, reggae, French songs, and hard rock. There is something for every taste! The only thing they have in common is their optimism and spirit of resilience.
“Sandcastles” by Beyoncé
“Gold” by Trinix
“Feeling Good” by Nina Simone
“What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong
“Wake Up” by AWOLNATION
“Brand New Start” by Concrete Knives
“Stronger” by Vandal
“What Are You Waiting For?” by Nickelback
“Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles
“Glorious” by Macklemore & Skylar Grey
“Glitter & Gold” by Barns Courtney
“I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor
“Ain’t Got No, I Got Life” by Nina Simone
“Titanium” by David Guetta
“Believer” by Imagine Dragons
“Peace and Tranquility to Earth” by Roudoudou
“Le Premier Jour du Reste de Ta Vie” by Etienne Daho
“Golden” by Brandon Beal & Lukas Graham
“Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons
“Let It Be” by The Beatles
“Everything Works Out in the End” by Kodaline
“1-800-273-8255” by Logic, Alessia Cara, Khalid
“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” by Daft Punk
“Beat It” by Michael Jackson
“That’s Life” by Frank Sinatra
“Happy” by C2C & Derek Martin
“Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba
“
Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley
“C’est Ta Chance” by Jean-Jacques Goldman
“Don’t Worry Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin
“Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel
“I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
“Happy” by Pharrell Williams
“Anthem” by Leonard Cohen
“Golden” by Jill Scott
“Mon Everest” by Soprano & Marina Kaye
“Avec le Temps” by Léo Ferré
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson
“Survivor” by Destiny’s Child
“The Show Must Go On” by Queen
“Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor
“I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly
“Fighter” by Christina Aguilera
“Stronger” by Britney Spears
“I’m Still Standing” by Elton John
“Walk” by Foo Fighters
“The Magic Flute” by Mozart
“Alive” by Sia
“Back in Black” by AC/DC
“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” by The Bee Gees
“Spring” by Vivaldi
“Believe” by Cher
“Firework” by Katy Perry
“Get Up, Stand Up” by Bob Marley
“Träumerei” by Schumann
“Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken” by Pink
“Ode to Joy” by Beethoven
“Gonna Fly Now” by Bill Conti
You can listen to this list at esprit-kintsugi.com and add your own suggestions!
Which songs would you like to add to this list?
Glossary
Do: the way, the path, the route, the art of living mindfully leading to enlightenment.
E-urushi (or neri bengara-urushi): the second layer of lacquer used during the repair. Its color is red. The gold powder is added to it while the lacquer is still moist.
Gintsugi: seam covered with silver.
Kintsugi: seam covered with gold.
Kintsukuroi: mending with gold.
Mugi-urushi: glue to attach the broken pieces. It consists of a blend of resin (urushi) and flour. It is used when all the pieces of the broken object have been gathered.
Muro: cardboard box used as a container for drying.
Roiro-urushi: lacquer used to cover the cracks with a first layer after the initial repair. Its color is black.
Sabi-urushi: cement used to re-create and replace missing pieces, prepared from resin (urushi) and powdered stone (tonoko).
Tonoko: powdered stone blended with resin (urushi) to prepare the glue.
Urushi: natural resin from the lacquer tree, used in lacquer arts.
Urushi-tsugi: lacquered joint with a brownish-red color, before being covered by metal.
Wabi sabi: the art of living recognizing the beauty of imperfect, ephemeral, and simple things.
Yobi-tsugi: using a piece from another object to replace a missing piece.
About the author
Céline Santini is a writer, blogger, and personal-development coach. In addition to over twenty books, she’s the author of the blog Jour Après Jour, which is dedicated to developing consciousness. She shares her insights of the art of kintsugi on her site esprit-kintsugi.com.
Check out these other great titles from andrews mcmeel publishing!
Kintsugi Page 13