Mended with Gold
Date Published: 9/28/2020
Mended with Gold
She illuminated my soul with the light that radiated from her being. Maybe I am sensitive to seeing the “gold†in others, their Kintsugi gold. You see, there was a time when my own life fell apart. We are usually able to pick up the pieces and move on, but sometimes they break into so many pieces that putting them back together can seem impossible.
Just then, I learned about Kintsugi. I understood that there was a way. It would have to be one day at a time, one good thought at a time, one kind act at a time, and one tiny step at a time.
Kintsugi in Japanese means golden Joinery. This is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted with powdered gold or silver. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history and ageless beauty of an object, rather than something to disguise.
So, I worked hard at mending my broken pieces, and one day I noticed that I was put back together. I was completely different than the original me. I was filled with gold.
The new me was more valuable, wiser, kinder, and stronger than my previous self. At times, I still break, but there is the knowledge that everything is mendable and there is always more gold. This personal journey has taught me to see the gold in others, to see the “Kintsugi†people.
Sara is Kintsugi. It was not her bald, shining head that gave it away. It was the gold that was glaring and blinding me from within her scars. There is a special beauty that comes from deep feelings, deep fractures that were put back together. The Kintsugi people recognize each other.
They know the time, work, patience, and pain it takes. They know the shame, courage, effort, and commitment it requires. They also know that it almost didn’t happen. It was almost not put together, and it could have ended very differently.
It could have been discarded as so many are when people feel helpless, and they don’t believe that they are worth the time and effort: the work and the love, the care, and belief! We are so worth it.
Sara was depressed from age nine, just a child! She was in excruciating pain. She was certain without an ounce of a doubt that she did not belong in this world or on this planet. Feeling extreme anxiety, she began methodically plucking each and every hair, first the eyelashes and the eyebrows, and then her head.
The pain caused relief. Before she knew it, she looked in the mirror and saw a monster staring back at her. There was screaming without sound, begging to end the pain so she could go to another dimension where the birds sing, and the flowers stand tall, and the music is magical; she wanted to experience kindness, and love, and joy, and be pain-free.
But she stayed. She fought. She gave herself the time and the love.
She put her pieces back together with gold.
One day, she looked at herself in the mirror, and she did not see a monster. She saw beauty and light, and she was no longer in pain. That day, she knew she belonged.
She started to spread her creativity and allow others to enjoy the uniqueness she brought to this earth. No longer depressed, she showed up to life, she stepped into the rink to give her all!
Sara is no longer depressed, nor suicidal. Sara is Kintsugi. I am Kintsugi and maybe you are too.
About the Author and Photo Shoot Creative Director
Miriam Grunhaus – Miriam is originally from Brazil. Prior to becoming a fashion designer, she founded her boutique marketing and design firm. She dreamt about putting a photoshoot together to bring awareness to suicide prevention and stop mental health stigma. She audaciously asked six artists to and create for the simple reason of love of people and the love of art. They said yes! Miriam’s fashion line is inspired by Kintsugi and created to promote personal healing. You may find Mikah’s collection at: www.mikahfashion.com
Miriam’s first book “Heal with Gold†is coming out in October. Books purchased until the 3rd week of October, will be matched and given as a donation to non-profits. You can purchase her book here: www.healwithgold.com/Book
Model and Topic of article: Sara Meucci @miss_swirl www.missswirl.com
Photoshoot credits in alphabetical order
Stylist: Anna Lavo @annalavostylist www. anna-lavo.com
Hair: Anthony Payne @anthonypayne
MUA: Candice Rios @iamcandicerios www.iamcandicerios.com
Photographer: Michael Oliver @mikeost www. www.oliverphotographs.com
Model: Sara Meucci @miss_swirl www.missswirl.com
She illuminated my soul with the light that radiated from her being. Maybe I am sensitive to seeing the “gold†in others, their Kintsugi gold. You see, there was a time when my own life fell apart. We are usually able to pick up the pieces and move on, but sometimes they break into so many pieces that putting them back together can seem impossible.
Just then, I learned about Kintsugi. I understood that there was a way. It would have to be one day at a time, one good thought at a time, one kind act at a time, and one tiny step at a time.
Kintsugi in Japanese means golden Joinery. This is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted with powdered gold or silver. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history and ageless beauty of an object, rather than something to disguise.
So, I worked hard at mending my broken pieces, and one day I noticed that I was put back together. I was completely different than the original me. I was filled with gold.
The new me was more valuable, wiser, kinder, and stronger than my previous self. At times, I still break, but there is the knowledge that everything is mendable and there is always more gold. This personal journey has taught me to see the gold in others, to see the “Kintsugi†people.
Sara is Kintsugi. It was not her bald, shining head that gave it away. It was the gold that was glaring and blinding me from within her scars. There is a special beauty that comes from deep feelings, deep fractures that were put back together. The Kintsugi people recognize each other.
They know the time, work, patience, and pain it takes. They know the shame, courage, effort, and commitment it requires. They also know that it almost didn’t happen. It was almost not put together, and it could have ended very differently.
It could have been discarded as so many are when people feel helpless, and they don’t believe that they are worth the time and effort: the work and the love, the care, and belief! We are so worth it.
Sara was depressed from age nine, just a child! She was in excruciating pain. She was certain without an ounce of a doubt that she did not belong in this world or on this planet. Feeling extreme anxiety, she began methodically plucking each and every hair, first the eyelashes and the eyebrows, and then her head.
The pain caused relief. Before she knew it, she looked in the mirror and saw a monster staring back at her. There was screaming without sound, begging to end the pain so she could go to another dimension where the birds sing, and the flowers stand tall, and the music is magical; she wanted to experience kindness, and love, and joy, and be pain-free.
But she stayed. She fought. She gave herself the time and the love.
She put her pieces back together with gold.
One day, she looked at herself in the mirror, and she did not see a monster. She saw beauty and light, and she was no longer in pain. That day, she knew she belonged.
She started to spread her creativity and allow others to enjoy the uniqueness she brought to this earth. No longer depressed, she showed up to life, she stepped into the rink to give her all!
Sara is no longer depressed, nor suicidal. Sara is Kintsugi. I am Kintsugi and maybe you are too.
About the Author and Photo Shoot Creative Director
Miriam Grunhaus – Miriam is originally from Brazil. Prior to becoming a fashion designer, she founded her boutique marketing and design firm. She dreamt about putting a photoshoot together to bring awareness to suicide prevention and stop mental health stigma. She audaciously asked six artists to and create for the simple reason of love of people and the love of art. They said yes! Miriam’s fashion line is inspired by Kintsugi and created to promote personal healing. You may find Mikah’s collection at: www.mikahfashion.com
Miriam’s first book “Heal with Gold†is coming out in October. Books purchased until the 3rd week of October, will be matched and given as a donation to non-profits. You can purchase her book here: www.healwithgold.com/Book
Model and Topic of article: Sara Meucci @miss_swirl www.missswirl.com
Photoshoot credits in alphabetical order
Stylist: Anna Lavo @annalavostylist www. anna-lavo.com
Hair: Anthony Payne @anthonypayne
MUA: Candice Rios @iamcandicerios www.iamcandicerios.com
Photographer: Michael Oliver @mikeost www. www.oliverphotographs.com
Model: Sara Meucci @miss_swirl www.missswirl.com
