Life Lessons through the Kintsugi - A Japanese Art form

Sometime back, on our company's facebook page, I had posted a link about Kintsugi.  I believe a few of you were wondering what that was about and how come it was on our page.

Well, here it goes.  

Few months back, I came across a person, coming from a broken family and still wanted to make something through entrepreneurial ventures.  This person came with a lot of baggage was is somehow managing to just survive through corrupted government officials, pandemic crisis, financial breakdown, broken marriage, and raising children as a single parent.

Now how to help someone coming from so much and helping the person to change a set of beliefs, at the same time complementing their courage?

I searched around, and came across this concept of "Kintsugi".  Briefly:

Nevertheless, an amazing concept, now how to apply this in real life?

Lucky for you, I have designed few ways to go about it!  But this article is not about that.  Instead, this article will highlight the life lessons that the Art of Kintsugi can teach us.

Kintsugi as a Metaphor

Life throws a lot at you.  It has a habit of doing that to everyone. By using Kintsugi as a metaphor, you can help you see that the broken, painful, and the most difficult parts of you as a radiating light and golden beauty. 

Not really an Oscar, but nothing short of it either!

"When you think you are broken, you can pick up the pieces, put them back together, and learn to embrace the cracks."  - Candace Kumai

Kintsugi as a Life's Motto

Believe me, I have been there.  Even when there is no visible path nor any surity of the future.  Especially, when you feel that you have been backstabbed by your loved ones or very close friends. 

Believe me, I have been there. 

Having a life's motto can actually help you undergo a few miracles along the way.  It is okay to feel bad, pity or guilt.  Sometimes, we get so stuck with the patterns of beating ourselves up and the blame game, that we loose control of ourselves.  

Kintsugi as a motto really does wonders. Even if you are "not good enough" in others eyes, it is okay to to feel hurt.  Kintsugi teaches us that it is okay to feel hurt, grieve or even cry.  It is okay to take time out for us to come back, open up and become more compassionate selves.

Wish I had known that much earlier!  It would have had saved me a lot of uncomfortable emotions and acceptance would have had been easier.

Anyway, back to the article. 

Emotionally, Kintsugi helps you to become more kind towards yourselves!

It is all about forgiving yourselves.  There is no way that you would have had known or experienced what you did, earlier.  Life is like that.

Everyone makes mistakes.  Even the so called perfectionists.  Trust me, I have those plenty around me to know this.  

Kintsugi taught me to practice self love.  

OK, all selfish people do that anyway.  So does that make you selfish too?

No, it does not.  It helps you to gain wisdom, reflect on your actions / reactions, and helps you to appreciate you as a person.  It always begins with self.

As they say, 

We are all consumed by the replay of our memories actions.  When we trap ourselves in that state, do remember the act of why this must stop.  And letting go is equally important.  Even if you are on the verge of seeking revenge.  Remember, the only one who is left hurting at the end, is YOU.  But this we will cover some other time.  

Kintsugi leads to Progression

We go through so much as people at home, work and social life.  Sometimes, moving on when surrounded by so many conflicts and conflicting emotions seem hard.  But when we start mastering the feelings behind these emotions, eventually we will master self and come back stronger than before!

Trust the process.  Believe in yourself.  I know life is not fair.  But understand, that everything that is happening will make sense one day and when you look back from the future YOU, everything just works out by connecting the dots.

It always will.  Take as much time needed.  This is no race.  There is no hurry.

Kintsugi promotes Learning Mindset

Of the 7 mindsets that help you succeed in life, this is one of the important ones.  Do search this article on "the 7 Mindsets that you need to succeed in life" on our company's facebook page.  A very informative and interesting article this was.

Back to the current article now.

Life is so wonderful and there is just so many things to do, learn and explore that most times, having one lifetime seems really a short period of time!

Did you know, that in this week alone, I have learnt about 3D pens, Zuri resin, and Kintsugi art forms?!  And I still want to learn about how to make videos using Adobe tools and photoshop!  But wait, that is not what is to be covered here.  "Shruti, do focus on the article please!"  

Kintsugi teaches us to be honest in our approach and open towards knowledge.  

Find some time to learn something new everyday.  It just keeps you going forward and cheers you up tremendously!

Kintsugi says "Imperfections are Golden"

So cherish them!

Face Life with full vigor and head on! Like I said, no one is perfect.  In fact perfection exists only in the eyes of the beholder!  The beauty is not in the perfect circle of life, or assignment completion or presentation made.  It lies in the mistakes committed, how you bounced back and improvised a new thing right there, or found another way to tackle that mountain of work!

Even your chores seem less dull around Kintsugi! 

Do remember, that like the roads of the world, the path of life is not straight.  There are many curves, cracks and need for maintenance (You get the idea!) which only you need to overcome.

In fact, (and do reflect), that some of your hardest and trickiest challenges, deepest wounds and greatest fears are actually amongst the most beautiful and admirable aspects of you as a person.

Kintsugi helps you develop Spiritual Awareness

Kintsugi helps you build resilience. 

Kintsugi and Zen philosophy are very similar.  As you learn more about you in this light, you master few skills along the way.  These skills are art of creativity, resilience, patience and humility.  

A constant reminder that we are all very unique in our own way.  Sometimes, it takes a lot to discover something so simple as this.

Eventually, everything just boils down to good old:

• high morals
• respect for self
• respect (and acceptance) of others - the way they are
• value and acceptance of Truth
• good hygiene of life
• eating healthily
• meditation
• courage
• value of work and life
• internal peace
• developing a conscience and awakened mind (spiritually) 
• art of letting go

Thank you for reading this article!

(Phew! Finished finally!)  Do enjoy till we meet again next time folks!

= Article contributed by Coach Shruti Misra Sharma, a Entrepreneurial Leadership Coach, ABNLP certified NLP Trainer and HRD Consultant 

Life Lessons from Pandemic

 I learnt and lived through the pandemic and numerous lock down initiatives by the Canadian government since March 2020.

We are all aware of how the pandemic has affected the world economies and put everything on a standstill.

Having said that and not putting emphasis on how the pandemic has affected us, on the contrary this article is going to be about how it has helped me - Shruti Misra Sharma to attain few realizations and lifestyle changes.

Mental Health  

I have been exposed to few helplines which I helped run during the past year and also co-facilitate webinar series.  Based on my exposure, I came to see that every one of us need a good and healthy exposure of distractions. 
What do I mean by keeping distractions, when the world professionals talk about staying focused?

Now that's a thought worth pondering!

By distractions, I do not mean engage in more talk about issues on hand or by gossiping to no end about the problems that are surfacing due to a global crisis.

I do mean by distractions, that are in form of indulging in serious hobbies or crafts or anything that gets your mind hooked and want to explore more about that new world.  

I got into art.  I learnt that Mandalas are not only common in India but the concept has evolved to many forms globally.  

I learnt about acrylic painting, dot mandalas, met with other artists, explored more forms of dot art, experimented with different mediums like canvasses, wood, canvas panels and stones. I got so hooked and addicted to this new world, that although Covid-19 was a serious affair, I stopped focusing upon it and gave it less importance.  Sure, I took precautions are required, but I created a world that kept me motivated to look forward to exploring life from another angle.

It kept my mental well being in check.  I also explored aromatherapy and essential oils.  The more I got absorbed with this new distraction, the more I learnt about life.

Physical Health

This is an important factor.  As gyms, swimming pools and going outdoors possibilities ceased, how to keep ourselves healthy?

After all, we human beings, are full of energy and need to exercise in order to stay fit if not focused on weight loss!

By doing housework and keeping a routine for regular walks helped me not only stay fit but also the routine bring some sense of normalcy around me.

Every one of us need to have a sense of control.  Every one of us craves for having to get up and look forward to life.  This was how I maintained while listening to my music, pranking my family members, all added up and made my physical labor more interesting.

Psychological / Emotional Health

Not only art, but entertaining healthy thoughts also helped me stay sane and maintain some amount of sanity around.

One can also say that focused meditation or purposeful meditation have helped them to stay reasonable calm and less reactive in the situation.

I realized that if I thought good and constructive thoughts, these helped my body stay healthy and full of positive vibrations.  This helped keep others around me also healthy.  Emotional well being was maintained and needs to be addressed as seriously as mental and physical health.  

Emotions and thoughts trigger biochemical reactions inside the body and it has been proven scientifically about their benefits by scientists across the world.

Having gratitude helped me spread it by making gratitude rocks.  These now painted rocks are now spread across Ontario, Canada to help others.

Change Management

"When the going gets tough, the tough gets going!"

But what happens when you can only maintain your toughness to just one extent?

Pandemic proved to be a real challenge.  

How much capacity does one has to keep their internal reservoirs of hope, faith and balance going strong?

Many people worked many hours. The companies took or still taking full advantage of exploiting labor.  Human and employee rights have been challenged globally.  Many lost their jobs due to companies' greediness at saving (hoarding) money to save their businesses.

So much greed surfaced.  So much hate and frustration.  

My business too suffered.  But sometimes, we need to take a step back and pause.  This was a moment for me to pause and reflect.

Pandemic defined my new boundaries of how much I can take and give to those in need.

It took my business on a virtual setting, not that I am complaining but also helped me manage more "time out" days than was otherwise possible.  It can be overwhelming sometimes, especially when you are directly in line of people training and coaching.  A bond forms and sometimes it crosses and you become a confident rather than a professional working with your clients.

It's only human.  It took me few days to re-charge and come back out fighting stronger than ever against an otherwise overwhelming emotional attacks from all fronts.

I realized that by taking regular "breaks" helped me against work burnouts and maintain a good healthy relationship with those who matter in my life.

Supporting Others in Need

I learnt that although, we all pretended that we do not need any one in life, pandemic proved otherwise and challenged this belief.

Everyone broke down at some point.  Everyone needed a distraction or some assurance that everything is under control.  It didn't come for a long time.  When it did, that lifeline was short lived (I am talking about when Covid-19 vaccines were about to hit the market, we started hearing and seeing how the virus evolved and made new mutations).  

No one is really prepared or can at this time assure that even taking boosters can help mitigate this risk permanently.

But supporting communities, friends, strangers, and extending your hand to help goes a long way to show that although there is hardly any certainty in life, you are willing to go an extra step to establish humanitarian help to others around you.  

The sense of "you are not alone" and the gratitude that came with it, was really overwhelming and humbling.  This is great learning experience.  The joy of giving was once again rekindled.  Cultural boundaries relaxed and it is great to see so many people around us once more!

Relationship Management

Families came close.  With so many things and work and life going on, there was a lot of noise.  This noise interfered with our lives and we do not remember what it was like to spend hours with your family members.  

Relationships based once on trust, companionship, faith, and co-dependence were given a second chance. 

It is important to have your family around, friendships about to help you to keep going and look forward to more things in life.  

Material things lost their value when memories of times spent together came alive.  There is more to working and chasing your dreams in life.  And thank you Pandemic for giving me a second chance to live.

Having a good relationship with self also immerged.  The more time I gave to reflect and improve my knowledge, the more confident and renewed sense of being I am in the process of developing.

Trusting that there is a process for everything, a sense of hope and faith is arising, stronger every day.

I look forward to sharing something new which I learnt with others.  This helps create more topics of discussions with others around me.  This also helps give them a new sense of well being and enlightenment for the day or time spent with you.

Periodical Getaways

Spending time with nature with family provided a much needed recharge.  We started to not only maintain social distancing norms by planning long trips outside the city but also found relief and joy by exploring so many provincial parks around!

I learnt that it is not only economical to plan such short trips over the weekend, but also to find more ways to do something constructive with so much time on hands.

We now look forward for long weekends and just go on a road trip!  It is so much fun! So much refreshing! 

Let's end by reframing the current crisis into a positive thought:  Pandemic is a blessing in disguise.  As the world slows down to match your pace, you skill up to match the world's pace once things reopen!

Till then do enjoy the best in life by dawning your exploration cap!

- Article has been contributed by our Entrenador Shruti Misra, a Neuro-Leadership & Entrepreneur Coach.  She is also a Mind Coach and international NLP trainer. 

Some photos have taken from Google images and some have been added from Shruti's own collection.

Some