Did it break you or make you stronger?

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending it with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum.  As a philosophy, it treats breakages and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.

We all work pretty hard to hide our baggage, any sign that we were ever broken.  But what if instead of seeing what we’ve been through as something to hide, we see those events (wherever possible) as things that make us more incredible. 

Every situation in life (especially the challenges) makes us who we are.  They make us more relatable, more understanding, more aware, more whole.  They give us reason to stand a little taller knowing we can withstand more than we thought we could.

Not everyone deserves to know everything about you or how you came to be where you are today but you yourself should not see your history as points where you broke.  You are more today because of the journey you’ve been on.  You have more to offer others as a result.  They are not battle scars; they are proof of how strong you are.