Anger or reflection... which would you choose? - Graham🐝 Edwards - Canada

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago · 1 min. reading time · ~10 ·

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Anger or reflection... which would you choose?

In one of my more philosophical moments the other night, I happened to mention that I remember hearing about an ancient oriental philosophy that says, "If a valuable glass breaks you should not be angry with it being broken, but instead reflect on all the times you enjoyed the glass before it broke"... or something to that effect.

The discussion admittedly was around how hard doing that can be.

Afterwards, recalling the discussion and racking my brain as to where I had heard about my so-called oriental philosophy (and if it was in fact even real), I did what any inquisitive person would do... I turned to the Internet.

I was not able to validate my oriental philosophy of "reflecting on all the times you enjoyed the glass before it broke", but I did discover Kintsugi.

Something that as an art form is simply beautiful, and as a philosophy is simply marvellous.

Kintsugi is a Japanese philosophy (and art) that treats "breakage" as part of the history of an object, and not something to be thrown away or disguised; it is illustrated by repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum.* Getting back to those philosophical discussions from the other night, Kintsugi would have been a nice addition because some of the talk was about the scrapes, scars and breaks that are part of our journey; literally and figuratively.

As I reflect more on recent discussions, as well as newly found philosophies, it all seems to be one big fat allegory for working through the trials and tribulations of life.

Things in life break, both figuratively and literally; objects, situations, relationships and even people. Reflection offers a far more positive energy, whereas anger offers nothing but the negative form... intuitively and practically, we all know anything positive is the way to go.
When things break, they can be put back together. By definition, the very act of being repaired makes it different, but that doesn't mean it will to be any less beautiful.
The scrapes, scars, and breaks that come with the journey of life should be celebrated... they are part of who we are, and that is a beautiful thing. We all have stories to share and celebrate.
Kintsugi in an allegorical sense, like being reflective, is not easy but can be done, and must be a conscious choice. With patience, skill and desire, something wonderful can come from all those pieces.

So for me, I choose "reflection". Just look what happens when you add some "discussion" and access to the Internet.

iamgpe

* Many thanks to the Internet and Wikipedia for helping me discover Kintsugi.

#Kintsugi #discussion #philosophy #reflection #anger

Comments

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #25

Thanks CityVP Manjit... appreciation is also a good word.

CityVP Manjit

7 years ago #24

#31
Dear Graham, I say learn to go into our anger for emotion is always sending us a message that we do not hear, yes we feel the emotion but do not hear it. Thus instead of anger or reflection I offer anger AND appreciation. Appreciation has the kind of depth to it that enjoyment does not have and in the context of kintsugi, that depth can be termed spiritual, and in learning about kintsugi I now see how that this very appreciation invigorates the imagination and thus take us from this depth that is spiritual to the physicality of the beautiful - and here I see in the kintsugi craft a great profundity - a flow of artistry from spiritual to physical.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #23

#13
Thanks for your comment Franci Eugenia Hoffman

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #22

#12
Thanks for the comment Tony Rossi. Yes, we are bigger than a single moment... but then again some moments can be very big.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #21

#10
Thanks of the comments CityVP Manjit. My point was that when something breaks it is better to reflect on all the enjoyment you got out of what was broken instead of getting angry that it is broken. You offer other interesting perspectives... thanks.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #20

#11
Thanks for the comment David Lisle. That was my intent.. reflect on all the joy, etc that came with what was broken... not get angry (or reflect) on the fact it is now broken.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #19

#9
Thanks for the comment ... it is our unique character that makes us special and gives us the ability to do anything.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #18

#8
Thanks for the comment Lisa Gallagher

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #17

#7
Thanks for reading and sharing John Rylance.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #16

#6
That is a great story Paul Frank Gilbert... thank you for sharing.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #15

#5
I agree Ren\u00e9e Cormier... we are all more beautiful than we think. Thanks for reading.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #14

#4
And what an impressive Kintsugi it is Kevin Pashuk. Thanks for reading!

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #13

#3
Thanks for the comment Alan Culler. It is appreciated.

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #12

#2
Thanks so much for the kudos Phil Friedman. It is greatly appreciated!

Graham🐝 Edwards

7 years ago #11

#1
Thanks for the note . I totally agree!

CityVP Manjit

7 years ago #10

#18
I am using the word "renaissance" until a better descriptor comes along. Certainly the context I hold "renaissance" in is more than a cycle of rebirth or awakening. The problem is Satyug which means the "golden age" is also imbued as a cycle and in that context we are in the age of kalyug (dark ages) which in Vedic terms is set to continue for another 400,000+ years, at the end of which it is the end of the world. The last thing I want to focus on is end-times no matter who likes to preach or engage that. A good example of it is the Golden Age of Greece http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/civil/greece/gr1050e.shtml Given a choice between the word "enlightenment" and "renaissance" - I prefer to imbue new meaning to the expression "21st Century Renaissance". The problem here is that I am not thinking of awakening as an age, but our DNA as in evolution rather than mysticism. As the 21st Century advances into profound transformation, we have reached an age where even the human genome is beginning to be deciphered, a time where the mysterious human brain is being examined as a neural network and the two combined have technologists talking about singularity. So the word "21st Century Renaissance" is more than enlightenment but still at the human level, whereas singularity addresses post-human realities. Since I don't presently know what to call that, I will settle for the moniker "21st Century renaissance" - and so I continue to lack a more poignant word to describe this. The Golden Age of Athens lasted for about a century.

CityVP Manjit

7 years ago #9

#15
Dear Irene, let me qualify "unnecessary pain". The industrial age and the prison of archaic hierarchies have little leg-room in a developing knowledge age. Unnecessary pain is NEVER an impetus of renaissance, it is the leading indicator that we are drifting to the dark ages. Fortunately, while we are all still in the dark ages, we are at the end of this dark age and the distance light at the end of this tunnel points to renaissance. Where kintsugi is highly relevant in this context is that we don't have to discard the broken pieces of the industrial age - but have the creative imagination to treat the industrial age as raw material for moving into the light. I will never seek to open the pandora's box of pain that the industrial age created - instead I celebrate the human spirit that becomes resilient in imagination because the adversity is opportunity, but not in unnecessary pain where adversity is horror.

CityVP Manjit

7 years ago #8

#12
Dear Tony, what I see in Kintsugi is not actually anything that is reflective, but craftsmanship which is immediate practicality. The spiritual dimension of that craft is then not a reflection of the broken but an antithesis of consumerism and its attitude of disposable product. In that regard we are emerging out of the industrial age back to a craft culture where our hands are the source of spirituality and not objects. Kintsugi is not about gluing broken things back together, but using gold lacquer to make the object more beautiful than it was before. The spiritual component is the elevation of the previous form, because the beauty is in the uniqueness that results in the restoration art. It is testimony to our tendency to anthropomorphize that is our blindspot here - we are not making a broken object more human - we are tending our spiritual ability to create a new dimension - for where there may have been sameness in the pottery, now there is character and pattern - that emerges from the gold lacquer or whatever material the craftsman choose to shape the new object. Just as the maker needed raw material to shape the pottery, the broken pottery is raw material for the kintsugi craftsperson. Kintsugi therefore is far more spiritual than the latest thinking on cradle to cradle design https://www.ted.com/talks/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design Pottery does not equal pain, it equals craft - the quicker we get society out of the age of pain, the quicker we can see the beauty in renaissance. What I see in Kintsugi therefore is renaissance and not reflection.

CityVP Manjit

7 years ago #7

We are talking about a culture that has developed for thousands of years. Progress/disruption may strip evolution of its developed culture - and here is the rub culture is not a generalization, it is best a personal learning - and where culture is a generalization, it is not that helpful to reflection. Dean Owen will have a unique perspective because he has been living and breathing in a Chinese culture that is far different to the one he was born into. I am reflective 365/366 days a year and am not representative of the majority population. I do not reflect because I have encountered a pain point or to try to heal a crack, I reflect so that I live in the blessing of wholeness which is reflection in the present. A reflection about brokenness is a rumination about the past. In the American election cycle this brokenness did not materialize because of a divisive political campaign, it was merely brought to the surface by the extreme rhetoric - it has been there growing as a crack until it revealed itself now as a political canyon. Western philosophy is different from the eastern whole system way. There is value in both but the value of reflection is not in the present moment even if reflection is a presence. It is one year from now, when what created the urge to reflect has dissipated, and when the news-cycle brings into view some other cognitive and emotional disturbance that will inform us the quality and meaning of our reflection today. If our reflection contains anger, then it is more likely to be rumination. True reflection is a life-time way and not just a lifetime learning.

Lisa Gallagher

7 years ago #6

I broke my tailbone giving birth to my first child. I dont remember the pain but I do remember the sheer joy I felt which has multiplied many times over the years. Great topic about the word Kintsugi Graham Edwards

John Rylance

7 years ago #5

Each time he looked at the vase he remembered his mother. It was treasured and had pride of place on the mantelpiece. To the cat it was an object in its way. Brushing past the cat caused the vase to slowly fall to smash in the fireplace. Reflecting later while stroking the cat he considered how he felt. Perhaps it's closure, but no. "Mum will remain in my head, safe from further accidents" He did leave a piece of the vase on the sideboard "lest he forgot. Graham I found your piece inspirational.

Kevin Pashuk

7 years ago #4

I count my scars and callouses as friends - they have affirmed my convictions, and eliminated the insignificant and inconsequential. I find that as I get older, I hold strong beliefs about fewer things, but I hold those few beliefs stronger than I ever did as a youth. So in a sense when you look at me, you see my Kintsugi

Alan Culler

7 years ago #3

Wow! Makes me wish I hadn't thrown away a piece of my mother's pottery when it broke in so many pieces. Kintsugi. Must learn more -thanks

Phil Friedman

7 years ago #2

Graham, this is one of the best pieces I've ever read on social media. There is a strong message here about hope and consciously choosing to deal with life, but without the cloying sweetness that usually accompanies such advice. Kudos!

Mohammed Abdul Jawad

7 years ago #1

If we humans learn the art of practicing patience at times of anger, misery and ordeal, then we can learn great, inspiring lessons through pensive reflections.

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