“The bravest people are often knitted together with scars.”
— Richard Grossi—
Practice Self Love by embracing your ‘imperfections’
What is self love? The Japanese have a beautiful practice called Kintsugi which is the practice of putting broken pottery pieces of ceramic back together with gold. The broken piece of pottery is not discarded, but recreated and thereby a unique and more beautiful piece of ceramic art is formed. This practice is built on the concept that once we embrace our imperfections/ flaws we allow ourselves to create a more beautiful and resilient piece of art.
If we regard our life as the bowl and the various breakdowns we experience in our life as cracks in the bowl and choose to embrace our imperfections/ flaws and challenges, we move towards an acceptance of ourselves as imperfectly perfect. In doing so we slowly begin pouring gold into what we once identified as cracks.
Give yourself permission to appreciate those cracks (breakdowns) as your scars and recognise that all warriors have them. These scars represent the battles that you’ve fought and tell stories of your courage and character.
Become your own Warrior
There have been periods in my life where I’ve been battle-weary. I’ve felt broken and unable to find gold to pour into my cracks. In time I realised that the gold that I was so desperately looking for was represented in my bravery, resilience and the will to simply get up and face the world again. I may, like the ceramic bowl, have been cracked, but I was not destroyed.
I found my gold in sharing my story of hope and courage to those who, like me, felt that they were broken beyond repair. In sharing, I allowed others to run their fingers along my scars as my heart whispered to theirs “I see you”. Remember that gold doesn’t lie on the surface of the ground waiting to be picked up. It is often hidden, wedged between rocks and deep underground. Once found, it takes work to chisel out, polish and refine before it shines.
I encourage you to practice self love and never give up finding your gold. Once you do, allow it, (your strength and courage) to fill your cracked piece of ceramic. With that form the most beautiful and unique creation that lay inside you all along – the spirit of a warrior.
Richard is an ICF qualified Ontological Coach. To book a 1:1 coaching session with Richard contact him on [email protected]
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