I am fascinated by the Japanese art of Kintsugi. Translated as "golden joinery", this is the art of repairing broken pottery by mending the breaks with a lacquer dusted with gold, silver, or platinum. Instead of hiding the breaks, the goal is to accentuate them and draw attention to them. In doing so, the art is elevated to another level. We gain new respect for the original artist as well as new respect for the artist who made the repairs. The imperfections become central to the art itself.
In a world where we are given messages everyday on the importance of hiding our flaws, there is something beautifully human about the art of Kintsugi. From the time we are children, we are inundated with a barrage of messages encouraging us to take this pill, try this diet, wear these clothes or makeup, or join this group, all in the pursuit of "fixing" our imperfections. We are helped onto the hedonic treadmill when we are young, and we struggle to get off again. Ask the question "what do you not like about yourself?" to 100 people, and you'll get 100 different answers. Odds are, though, none of those answers will be "nothing".
Please don't mistake this commentary for an argument against improving oneself. In general, I fully support the pursuit of activities meant to improve yourself. Where I take issue is the notion that those steps should be motivated out of a sense of brokenness. Moving from bad to good looks very different than moving from good to great. We each have small, unique imperfections that make us human and are as much a part of our identity as the color of our hair or skin.
Embracing these imperfections can change our outlook on the world. None of us lives in isolation. We are surrounded by others that have the potential to support us and fill in the gaps where we do not possess certain strengths. Each of us can choose whether we want to invest our time attempting to improve ever so slightly on those imperfections, or lean on those around us that excel in those areas and spend our own time utilizing our strengths.
In the end, the pursuit of perfection itself may be a fool's errand. The idea of "perfect" is not only illusive, but it's a constantly shifting target defined by any of a number of different cultural influences. I would argue that it distracts us from what we are truly capable of to spend our days trying to attain an arbitrary notion of perfection that will probably change by the time we get close and look up anyway.
The imperfections not only make us human, but they fuel our humanity. We thrive when we are in a community with others that lifts us and guides us. The collective energy of that environment fuels our passions and ideally allows us to express our imperfections with confidence and openness. We will always have opportunities to grow and improve ourself, but we'll be much more open to that growth if we accept ourselves, imperfections and all. In doing so, we can recognize the love and kindness around us because of who we are and not in spite of ourselves.
