03/11/2026
🇯🇵 Japanese Culture Day: Kintsugi and grief
Have you heard of kintsugi? ✨
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum. Rather than hiding the cracks, the repairs are highlighted, becoming part of the object's story.
There’s a gentle parallel here with grief.
When someone we love dies, life can feel as though it has been broken into pieces. Things may never be quite the same again, and learning to live with the death of a loved one takes time.
Grief isn't something we simply fix or move on from. But, slowly and in our own time, we can begin to find ways to carry it with us.
Our lives may look different, but the love we shared doesn't disappear. Our memories, our connections and the ways we continue to hold someone close can become part of the story of who we are.
Like the golden seams in kintsugi pottery, these connections don't erase the cracks. They sit alongside them, reminding us that even through grief, there can still be moments of connection, hope and meaning.
🤍 Healing doesn't mean returning to how life was before. It means finding our own way forward, while continuing to carry the love of the person who died.
