Time to Treasure Flaws

Flaws… do you hide them or feature them? How can they improve your health?

I use a great deal of concealer to hide the dark circles under my eyes! In fact, I religiously use an eyebrow pencil to fill in my misshapen eyebrows. A beautiful hair color hides the grey springing from my roots. What is the real purpose of makeup? To enhance our natural beauty or to hide our “so called” flaws? Both.

Winnie Harlow is a fashion model who, I think, is blowing up the idea of beauty.  She has a very prominent for of vitiligo, which causes skin to lighten. Michael Jackson had the same skin condition.

She has both black and white tones to her face and body and chooses to showcase her “flaw” rather than hide them.  

Winnie was also a contestant on America’s Next Top Model and chose to create a treasure from her condition.  It is only recently that she has been celebrated for her unconcealed look.

Picture courtesy of https://www.news24.com/Archives/City-Press/The-brave-beauty-of-model-Chantelle-Brown-Young-20150429

Moving on to beautiful things we have in our homes-stuff to enhance the beauty and to hide the flaws. We collect stuff.

What happens when something breaks – do you throw it away?

In Japan, they feature flaws in a unique way, at least when it comes to pottery repair.  Since the 15th century, this wonderful and ancient art of pottery repair has been a practice in Japan.

When a bowl or vase made from pottery become broken, it would be unthinkable to discard.  Instead the focus is on a repair process that celebrates the cracks rather than throwing away the piece of art. The method is called Kintsugi and uses a process to emphasize the breaks instead of hiding them. A unique was of healing.

Wow, what a way to celebrate flaws!! It is found that the repaired piece becomes more beautiful than the original.  The Japanese, who originated this centuries-old method, emphasize the seamed repair with a special lacquer dusted with a powdered metal; platinum, silver, or gold.  The cracks proudly feature the flaw with a unique appearance. This method is celebrated and chooses to emphasize the cracks, fractures, breaks with a golden repair.

Kintsugi, or Kintsukuroi, means golden repair. and I think mymodernmet.com has a clear explanation of this method

“Kintsugi art dates back to the late 15th century. According to legend, the craft commenced when Japanese shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa sent a cracked chawan—or  tea bowl—back to China to undergo repairs. Upon its return, Yoshimasa was displeased to find that it had been mended with unsightly metal staples. This motivated contemporary craftsmen to find an alternative, aesthetically pleasing method of repair, and Kintsugi was born.

Since its conception, Kintsugi has been heavily influenced by prevalent philosophical ideas. Namely, the practice is related to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, which calls for seeing beauty in the flawed or imperfect. The repair method was also born from the Japanese feeling of mottainai, which expresses regret when something is wasted, as well as mushin, the acceptance of change.”

Our DNA proves that we are all unique, the same is true of every repair of the ceramic piece.  The irregular patterns are created through the shattered beginning. The new form takes shape as the broken pieces create new shapes within the work.  The metals add dimension and an additional layer of beauty. It is also part of the glue used to bring the piece to new life.

The beautiful images are from Image from Lakeside Pottery Studio

The ancient method suggests a different way of looking a healing. What can we do with something is flawed or broken? Instead of believing it is no longer useful, you can wonder about another way to make it valuable; repair, repurpose, rethink.

Turn the flaw into something unique and special for you.

Author:  Leslie A. Miller, Ph.D., is a Mind Coach, Transformational Healer, Reiki Master and the founder of Holistic Health Resource and Leslie Miller Wellness. She is in private practice in Novi, Michigan and Boca Raton, Florida. She has helped thousands of clients and facilitated hundreds of workshops. She is also a wellness therapist, professional speaker and corporate consultant.