I have been trying to help myself with my depression. I decided to try and really focus on the positive things in my life. celebrating the small successes and things that are going well.
Then I got to thinking of my scars, I'm not ashamed of my scars they are my battle scars, and show the battles I have been through and represent what I have become.
I have not always had this relationship with my scars on my wedding day, I used makeup to cover up my scars on my wrist. I was current at surgery 2 out of 4 and desperately unhappy. This was because a few months before I had had to leave my job as a technology teacher. I could no longer do the demonstrations that I needed to do to be able to teach my students. This made me very angry and upset and I didn't want to be reminded of this in all my wedding pictures for the rest of my life.
Now 4 surgeries on my wrist with more scars and still constant pain in it that gets worse when I use it. I have excepted they are apart of me and my journey, much like the rest of my scars over my body. I got my first when I was 4 a surgery on my neck to remove a sinus. This scar would get red and inflamed when I was unwell so I grew up very aware of it and it took years for me to accept it as a part of me.
All this contemplation got me thinking about how to be more positive about my scars and I remembered how the Japanese treat a broken plate or bowl. Were we throw away a broken plate (labelled as broken and useless) or try to fix it but use super glue of other materials (trying to hide the break). The Chinese repair with gold, silver, or platinum to repair theirs they want the break to become apart of the beauty of the piece.
Wanting to find out more I decided to do some research and found out what the technique is called and how it all started. below is the history.
Translated to “golden joinery,” Kintsugi (or Kintsukuroi, which means “golden repair”) is the centuries-old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a special lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Beautiful seams of gold glint in the cracks of ceramic ware, giving a unique appearance to the piece.
This repair method celebrates each artifact’s unique history by emphasizing its fractures and breaks instead of hiding or disguising them. Kintsugi often makes the repaired piece even more beautiful than the original, revitalizing it with new life.
History
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
please check the link below for more information about Kintsugi
So I decided to paint my scars gold to celebrate the journey I have been on and the new me that they have created. I may still be fighting multiple illnesses but these scars are reminders of the warrior I have become due to each of these fights. They make me more unique and I except the change that my body has gone through for me to be who I am now.
4 x wrist surgeries, 1 suspicious mole removal, & sinus removed from my neck
3 X endometriosis removal & appendetomy, 1 hernia repair.
2 X foot surgery to correct Hammer toes/clawing of toes
I am hoping to raise awareness and start a challenge to paint your scars gold or silver and share on social media to help raise awareness for body positivity and being proud of our journeys and fights through challenges of illnesses. please check out my Instagram for more information link below.
I love this idea. What a positive way to think about our scars. I will be doing this with mine.
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