Mary Hendra brings curiosity, creativity, and compassion to individuals and teams through Move with Grace. Redefining “play” for the modern, busy adult, her workshops and cohort programs foster self-reflection and build clarity so that you can take action.
As the Year Changes - Kintsugi Reflections
Inspiration from KintsugiWith a little down time during the holidays, my husband and I went to a class on Kintsugi. It has gotten a lot of attention recently - perhaps accelerated by the need to embrace imperfection when world events caused a shutdown. The mending of pottery with gold has such a beautiful attraction. |
Kintsugi is often shared with an attention on the beauty brought by the gold, but we learned that this is a relatively recent addition (15th century). The original mending of plates goes back many more centuries. The beauty came not from the gold added, but from bringing something back into daily life - and the regular making of memories - through that repair. It is all of those daily experiences and memories that make it beautiful. Shared another way, We aren’t “strong at the broken parts” because of the breaks, but because of the attention to repairing with care. I love this insight into Kintsugi even more than the beauty emphasized by the gold embracing imperfection. In our class we repaired freshly broken new plates that had no history to us - all of the memories will be layered on the repaired plates, including the memory of spending time together learning and crafting (and watching the dog on zoom since it was the longest we’d left him - he did fine). Life sometimes hands us broken shards - or breaks in use. I find myself thinking about how to bring careful love and attention to whatever needs a little repair, and then to enjoy the beauty and strength brought more and more each day it is reclaimed. Whether a job, a relationship, a home, or something else - that careful love and attention to the cracks makes a huge difference in embracing and enjoying the entirety. Wishing you love, care, beauty, and strength in the new year, Mary |
…and for those interested in how Buddy is doing, his trainer now identifies him as an “alum”! Not only has he been left home with no destruction (up to 4 hours), he has come with us to several meals out, and even made a couple “happy visits” to the vet (eating a couple milk bones in the lobby). |
Move with Grace
Mary Hendra brings curiosity, creativity, and compassion to individuals and teams through Move with Grace. Redefining “play” for the modern, busy adult, her workshops and cohort programs foster self-reflection and build clarity so that you can take action.
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