Mending with Gold

- Clients often express their desire to be "fixed". They believe they have been or they are involved in a situation that is "broken". The words fixed and broken evokes for me the philosophies that guide the Japanese art of Kintsugi also known as Kintsukuroi. Japanese culture embraces flaws and imperfections as valuable and an integral part of an object's beauty. Kintsugi mends broken pottery by combining lacquer with a precious metal such as gold, silver or platinum. Rather than throw out or disguise the broken pieces a choice is made to highlight the breakage by repairing it with precious metal. The gold mended pottery is strengthened by this reparative process and is more valuable because of its unique history. Embracing the value of one's history as essential to who one is may be key to reaching quality of life goals.