A Year of Sundays: The 24th Sunday (6/15/25) – Expect the Unexpected, Mend with Gold

This past week was saturated with uncertainty. So often I found myself asking aloud, “What is going on?” The world seemed to unravel—political power plays, mass protests, the show of militarized force, and the unrelenting noise of conflict. I could not predict the future, nor control how others might behave. I could only manage my inner world: my thoughts, my actions, my peace of mind.

I turned inward. I walked. I brewed tea with quiet reverence. I journaled. I read. I remembered that peace is not a passive luxury—it is an active and intentional practice.

The ancient Japanese practice of kintsugi became my guide. This art of repairing broken pottery with gold-infused lacquer honors the object’s history, making the cracks a focal point rather than a flaw. In a world brimming with fracture, kintsugi offered me a poetic framework for my own resilience.

In Candice Kumai’s Kintsugi Wellness, she writes:

"We all have cracks. But the healing process makes us stronger, more beautiful, and more authentic." (Kumai, 2018, p. 46)

I found this echoed in Alexandra Kitty’s The Art of Kintsugi, where she asserts:

"Kintsugi does not hide the scars. It illuminates them. It says, ‘This is where life happened. And I am proud of surviving it.’" (Kitty, 2018, p. 92)

In Celine Santini’s Kintsugi: Finding Strength in Imperfection, I was reminded that healing is not linear:

"To be repaired with gold is not to forget the breakage—it is to integrate it, to grow with it, and to love yourself all the more for it." (Santini, 2019, p. 103)

Bonnie Kemske, in Kintsugi: The Poetic Mend, bridges the practical and the philosophical:

"Kintsugi is not just a repair technique—it is a story of transformation, where damage becomes narrative and beauty emerges from trauma." (Kemske, 2021, p. 77)

Finally, Michael Gellert, in A Kintsugi Parable: Perspectives on Brokenness, offers this powerful parable of perspective:

"The bowl thought its value was gone—until it saw itself in the eyes of another, who marveled not at the cracks, but at the gold that held it together." (Gellert, 2022, p. 58)

These voices reminded me that the fractures in our lives—emotional, spiritual, political—can become entry points for wisdom, grace, and creativity. If I remain open, life will offer the golden lacquer.

This week, I let the gold be my glue. I am not unbroken—but I am beautifully mended.

References

Gellert, M. (2022). A Kintsugi parable: Perspectives on brokenness. Psychosynthesis Press.

Kemske, B. (2021). Kintsugi: The poetic mend. Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

Kitty, A. (2018). The art of kintsugi. Mango Publishing.

Kumai, C. (2018). Kintsugi wellness: The Japanese art of nourishing mind, body, and spirit. Harper Wave.

Santini, C. (2019). Kintsugi: Finding strength in imperfection. Rock Point.