Discovering The Gold In Your Wounds
Than ancient Japanese art of kintsukuroi (Japanese for “golden repair”) consists of repairing broken pottery with a lacquer resin, finished with powdered gold. While some might find the trash the appropriate final resting place for these broken pieces, others see the treasure in the cracked crockery.
Just like kintsukuroi, we can look beyond seeing trash and instead behold the beautiful in the becoming. As Robert Bly said, “Where a man’s wound is, that is where his genius will be.” Simply put, rather than avoiding the pain of life, we will find the gold, or greater purpose, if we are willing to examine our wounds.
This journey into the deep does not have to be done alone. Touching the wound is never an easy journey so I invite you to consider a few things to help you along the way.
1. Make sure you have the support of a safe community around you; several safe friends and family members that you can turn to and lean on.
2. Consider working with a therapist to delve deeper with a trained professional.
3. Make a list of non-negotiable needs in your life, things that you must have as support from friends and family. (Affirmation, acceptance, love, respect, time, vulnerability, safety, etc.) Make your safe community aware of your needs.
4. Daily prayer and meditation.
These are just several ideas to get you started but certainly add to this list to make sure you have the support you need. We cannot do this alone.
There is another story of a character trying to find her way home. Lost in another world, she was told to follow a golden road and at the end she would find her way home. While the road was golden it traveled through some dangerous and treacherous lands. However, even she wasn’t alone on her journey. Along the way she found companions who supported her while also finding her wisdom, her heart, and her courage. It was only in reaching the end of the golden path that she finally understood that she always had the power to go home inside of her but she never would have believed this about herself had she not gone on the journey which helped her to face her fears and hurts.
What wounds have you kept locked up deep inside? Consider for yourself if it is time to look at the painful cards life has dealt you and find your genius; the gold that mends our broken pieces.
Posted by Thaddeus Heffner, LMFT – November 24, 2013
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