“Not only is there no attempt to hide the damage, but the repair is literally illuminated… a kind of physical expression of the spirit of mushin….Mushin is often literally translated as “no mind,” but carries connotations of fully existing within the moment, of non-attachment, of equanimity amid changing conditions. …The vicissitudes of existence over time, to which all humans are susceptible, could not be clearer than in the breaks, the knocks, and the shattering to which ceramic ware too, is subject. This poignancy or aesthetic of existence has been known in Japan as mono no aware, a compassionate sensitivity, or perhaps identification with, [things] outside oneself.” — Christy Bartlett, Flickwerk: The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics
Broken pots, repaired with gold
more valuable for their damage
I wish that we could show our damage
and the elegance by which
we might be repaired
If our scars could bleed and be made valuable
to ourselves and to others
We hold ourselves together
band-aids, super glue, salve
hidden beneath clothes and skin
Yet, we know the pain of the breaking
and the effort to heal
Sometimes we know the worth
buried inside
even as others want to see the stigmata
To flaunt your scars
your empathy, your understanding
and believe in your beauty
Flawed and broken
I wish our scars would turn gold.
