“Kintsugi teleios is the broken Newness, broken perfection, as Kintsugi masters behold the fractures until the fragments in themselves become beautiful – “in my end is my beginning”. – Makato Fujimura

Teleios: tel’-i-os – brought to its finish, that which is perfect, wanting nothing necessary to completeness, consummate human integrity & virtue

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The Art of Mending

Reflecting on the art of Kintsugi, I discovered that the word literally means golden joinery. A moving concept to choose to mend rather than discard that which is broken. Fired with gold, a broken vessel is offered new life as the Kintsugi artist renews and strengthens with painted veins of gold.

I entered this kairos season walking in brokenness and a deep need for Kintsugi. I can’t put the pieces back together in my own strength – I need the master Artist to repair this broken vessel. Only the Kintsugi Creator can mend my broken lament with his fired gold.

He beholds, and mends the cracks instead of discarding me as a useless vessel. He sees the hidden value in brokenness and begins to repair, strengthen, and create something new from the broken despair I see within. His abundant Kintsugi gift repairs the broken hearts, souls, and spirits within each of us.

The Kintsugi Artist offers his gift to freely mend that which is broken between us. He strengthens the cracks both in us and between us, and offers us a new life of repaired flawed beauty that is stronger in its transparency. We are only strengthened if we behold, accept, and value our brokenness and begin to mend the invisible cracks between us.

Kintsugi teleios is in the grace, Kintsugi grace is how we mend.

“The tragedy is not that the world is broken, the tragedy is that it is not being mended.” – Alan Paton, Cry, The Beloved Country