Over the last few years the personal development and wellness industry has flourished. It seems every second person has gone to a retreat, engaged with life coaching or has signed up for online master classes. Some are searching for the meaning of life and others simply want a weekend away eating kale and being told to “straighten their back” in the downward dog!
Sadly, many people perceive themselves as flawed in some way - that there is something “wrong” with them that needs changing or concealing. This common insecurity has us exhausting ourselves trying to live up to enhanced, edited, airbrushed and socially conforming versions of ourselves. Acknowledging our imperfections as part of our beauty and uniqueness is perhaps the most self-nurturing gift we can give ourselves.
The Japanese art of Kintsugi (meaning “to join with gold”), is a 500 year old Japanese tradition of repairing the shattered seams of broken ceramics with gold and silver. It treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
Kintsugi is part of a broader philosophy of embracing the beauty of human flaws and fragility. In a world that so often prizes youth, perfection and excess, kintsugi embraces the old, battered and imperfect. It also teaches calm when a cherished piece of pottery breaks, is a reminder to stay optimistic when things fall apart and to celebrate the flaws and missteps of life.
Our Certificate III in Personal Empowerment approaches self-awareness and growth with the Kintsugi philosophy – all chips, cracks and breakages of life are simply opportunities to create unique and authentic beauty.
