Kintsugi and Trauma Healing: Finding Worth Without Erasing the Past
(Summary) This post was inspired viewer on my YouTube channel who shared how meaningful it felt to be seen as more than what had happened to them—to be recognized as whole, not “used up” or damaged by their past. Their words brought to mind the Japanese art and philosophy of kintsugi, in which broken pottery is repaired using gold, silver, or other precious metals. Rather than hiding cracks, kintsugi highlights them, treating repair as part of the object’s history rather than something to be erased. In this reflection, I explore what that philosophy can offer trauma survivors—especially those who have been taught, implicitly or explicitly, that suffering diminishes worth.
This video was prompted by a viewer comment about how good it feels to be in a place where they are recognized for being more than what happened to them. They said they liked that they weren’t seen as “used up” or “damaged.”
This comment reminded me of the Japanese art of kintsugi. Some of you have probably heard of this before– it’s not my own original idea.
Kintsugi is both an art and a philosophy. It teaches that there is beauty, even where there has been rough use. In kintsugi, broken pottery is repaired using gold or other precious metals mixed into lacquer. The cracks aren’t hidden; they’re highlighted. The repair becomes part of the story — and the piece, though once broken, becomes something even more beautiful and valuable than before. I love that in this philosophy, usefulness and worth are not determined by perfection and the object’s chips and cracks aren’t disguised or hidden. They are simply part of the story.
It is my hope that you, too, can see yourselves as having worth even with the history of what happened to you. Your history is nothing to be ashamed of or hidden. And the streaks of gold, silver and platinum healing add to your beauty and character. Please don’t hear me saying that this makes what happened to you okay. It does not. What I want you to hear is that, just like in the Japanese art of kintsugi, having a ding or chip or a broken piece doesn’t make you worthless. And healing highlights your specialness.