Guilt is a natural emotion. It is an indicator of the fact that we are becoming better people even if we have made mistakes in the past. Guilt gives us a chance to learn, and an opportunity to fix the errors we have made. However, there are occasions when this very emotion begins to stifle us. Guilt can sometimes become so heavy that it makes us forget who we are. It begins to convince us that we are defined by our mistakes.
Recently, I discovered the existence of a stunning Japanese art called Kintsugi. The word Kintsugi means to join with gold. Kintsugi is the art of using gold or similar precious metals to mend broken pottery and other ceramics. This art is especially beautiful because it not only gives broken vessels a chance to be used again, but it makes the article more attractive and precious in the process. The fissures in the material are not hidden, but rather highlighted by shining, precious metal.
Kintsugi is often used as a metaphor to show that mistakes in our past do not define us – that we can come out of a difficult situation and still continue to shine. Yet, there is another lesson to be learned from this art. This lesson is the fact that forgiveness and patience can be the difference between a broken person and a thriving one. After all, would the art of Kintsugi exist if people were not willing to spend energy and time on an article that is already broken? Instead of throwing it away, they choose to mend it and make it more valuable than it ever was.
The world is filled with different kinds of people. Their differences manifest themselves in the values that they hold dear, and in their actions or words. Because we share this world with those who are different from us, we will encounter people who are broken, often in ways that they themselves do not realise. It is easy to avoid such people or to allow them to drift away. It is easy to turn around and hurt people who hurt us. However, when we choose to give them a second chance or a new choice, we will find that our world is filled with more brilliant people and less broken ones.
Life, especially for young people, can be a confusing and strange journey. So, we have taught ourselves to travel with our eyes to the ground, ensuring that we do not trip or fall. If we teach ourselves to look at those around us instead, we will find that there are some who have already fallen and some who can barely walk. There is beauty and strength in offering our hand to these people. There is beauty and strength in forgiving those who make mistakes, smiling at those who scowl and healing those who hurt.
Kindness, not only to those who deserve it but to those who need it, is like melting gold into the fissures that the past has left in broken hearts. When wounds are healed with love, their scars shine like gold.
