Beyond the Cracks

Why broken things might be good for you.

Wait a minute. Broken things, good for you? Doesn’t this contradict practically every rule of interior design, Feng Shui or Positive Psychology that you have ever followed?

My client Susan was sad over a broken porcelain bowl. Since Susan is a loyal member of the Feng Shui community, she knew that she needed to let the broken object go. Feng Shui is strict about broken things. They symbolize something broken in your life, so they must be removed from your environment. Also, broken objects should not be passed on to others. This would invite bad luck. Broken things are to be disposed of, period. – Sure, it is wise to be selective about what (and whom) we surround ourselves with. Saying goodbye to things (or people) that are broken beyond repair or no longer support our wellbeing, makes sense. Things without meaning or non-functioning household equipment are a burden.

Yet, there may be good reasons for repairing things that are broken – as long as they are worth it. Worthiness is defined by the owner or caretaker of the object. It is all about a specific meaning on a personal level and has nothing to do with an object’s material value. Besides the obvious environmental impact of repairing a functional thing instead of replacing it, there may be another, even greater gain: Broken things of personal meaning, if repaired thoughtfully, can symbolize that you have gone “beyond your cracks”. You have put yourself back together and moved on.

Susan couldn’t let the little bowl go. It wasn’t precious in a material way. But it reminded her of a truly memorable trip with a good friend. Susan collected the bits and pieces. Some were tiny, some even ground into porcelain dust. She meticulously glued the pieces together and filled the remaining holes with plaster. She didn’t like the appearance of the glued-together-bowl, but she was glad to have saved it. Years later, Susan heard about the ancient Japanese art of repairing porcelain or terracotta objects: Kintsugi. The essence of Kintsugi is to show the cracks and even highlight them with precious gold, instead of making the object look like new. In Kintsugi philosophy, it is the cracks that give the cherished thing its true beauty and value: much like the scars and wrinkles that show our life’s journey. They make us unique. We may have been hurt, perhaps even smashed into pieces, yet here we are: alive, stronger, wiser and yes, golden. A Kintsugi object is more valuable than a brand new one. Needless to say: Susan turned those cracks into gold. Today, the little bowl is a shining star in her china cabinet.

So, give it a second thought. With all the enthusiasm about minimalism, Swedish Death Cleaning and the like, it sometimes seems that the fast and furious letting go of things has turned into a kind of religion. Why not pause for a moment and remind ourselves that we can choose to overrule a mental concept and let our hearts decide? We can forgive ourselves for having a lot of stuff, and go on a decluttering safari later, when we really feel like it. And we can always look around to find out whether there’s a promising case of Kintsugi healing waiting for us to unpack our gold.

Step #8 = REPAIR