Kintsugi (golden joinery), also known as kintsukuroi (golden repair), is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer, dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.
As a philosophy, kintsugi treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
Kintsugi can relate to the Japanese philosophy of mushin (no mind), which encompasses the concepts of non-attachment, acceptance of change, and fate as aspects of human life.
Christy Bartlett, author of Flickwerk: The Aesthetics of Mended Japanese Ceramics, draws parallels to our experiences: “The vicissitudes of existence over time, to which all humans are susceptible, could not be clearer than in the breaks, the knocks, and the shattering that ceramic ware is subjected to.”
During the CoViD-19 pandemic, the philosophy and practice of kintsugi emerged as a source of comfort. It has been used as a metaphor for rebuilding after tragic events such as dealing with loss, sickness, trauma, and the disruption of daily life.
Kirsten Weir, writing in 2020 in the American Psychological Association’s periodical Monitor on Psychology, says, “Post-traumatic growth is like kintsugi for the mind,” while The BMJ described kintsugi philosophy as a “powerful tool for healing after the grief of losing loved ones to COVID-19”.
The slew of tragedies that was unleashed on us by the murderous pathogen called Covid is like a herd of elephants running amuck in a china shop and leaving only cracked, broken and flawed pieces of what was once precious and expensive ware.
Back in 1982 when the first HIV cases were reported, there was massive panic and paranoia.
The Psychiatry Journal Lancet describes HIV as : “The Unseen enemy at the gate. When it first struck, no one knew what it was, how to deal with it, there was a great fear of the contagion, including among health professionals There was the shameful feeling among doctors and nurses that there was nothing they could do but (figuratively) hold the hand of patients as they died, one after the other.
The disease also stigmatized gay men in particular, another product of uncertainty and fear. For quite some time, these was a sense that there was no end in sight to that deadly, viral epidemic.
There are parallels between the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the CoViD-19 pandemic, with its invisible (but far more contagious) pathogen. These parallels are particularly evident in the emotional turmoil among doctors and nurses, who did not eschew caring for patients with AIDS, and who are today delivering medical care for patients with CoViD-19.”
An investigation into the thinking and sentiments of 40 front-line physicians was done at two major US medical centers, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and the New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
The chief medical officer of Bongo Media, which conducted the inquiry, analyzed its findings, and provided de-identifed reports to the leadership of the hospitals. Pairs of doctors who knew one another met in person, although virtually, privately, and anonymously, once or twice a week, when and where they wanted. Their conversations were recorded, with consent, on secure servers.
Two principal findings emerged: First, the degree of powerlessness medical professionals felt, with no end in sight, coupled with a feeling there was no one to talk to. They put on their game face for department chiefs and hospital CEOs. They did not want to take their experiences home, believing that only those fully caught in the COVID-19 storm could understand.
Second, and more positively, there was the amazing degree of support that professionals took from one another. Peer support was what they needed and achieved by these face-to-face, online meetings. These doctors were not going to see a mental health professional; they had no time, no energy, and little inclination to do so. Indeed, doctors are among the least likely to seek mental health treatment, despite having high rates of suicide, substance use disorders, and depression.”
From the above findings, we see how our medical front liners took the brunt of the Covid attack yet remained resolute in their desire to tackle the unknown enemy that is CoViD with their “game face”.
Dr Laneuville, a psychiatric resident in another hospital, preferred a battle metaphor.
“We are at war and I am called to serve; the health care heroes are its soldiers while the enemy is an invisible virus.”
Nonetheless, she recognized, “Warriors combat and kill whereas doctors provide care and cure.” Following a night shift, she wrote, “I stand by my doorstep and question what a health care hero is. What makes the ordinary extraordinary?”
From The Permanente Journal come more stories of our front line heroes:
Dr Lemos, a family physician, wrote, “We have sacrificed so much for our patients. I have been deeply angered and frustrated with the anti-mask protests, the conspiracy theories that COVID-19 is a hoax and the unwillingness of some individuals to follow public health recommendations. It is an insult to all of us who are risking our lives and for those in our care and for the families who have lost loved ones to this virus.”
Dr Messier, an emergency doctor, wrote, “I found it hard at times not to feel discouraged when confronted by human nature. Situations arose where egoistic and unconscientious behaviors prevailed.”
For example, patients who avoided confinement or others who tested positive but failed to quarantine themselves until test results were known.
Dr D Dobkin, following the sudden death of a previously healthy COVID-19 patient wrote, “I felt a searing sense of failure.”
That is not just bravery, dedication but RESILIENCE in its purest form.
Another theme that emerged concerned reactions to the public who ignore precautionary instructions.
Dr Lemos, a family physician, wrote, “We have sacrificed so much for our patients. I have been deeply angered and frustrated with the anti-mask protests, the conspiracy theories that COVID-19 is a hoax and the unwillingness of some individuals to follow public health recommendations. It is an insult to all of us who are risking our lives and for those in our care and for the families who have lost loved ones to this virus.”
My classmate GA just recovered from his fourth bout of CoViD. I recall the collective prayers of our SUHS Viva ‘77 class for him, and seeking help to have him admitted to a hospital at a time when hospital beds were scarce.
On Jan. 9, Mercury News recounted a miraculous story: “Amy Yamaguchi met her daughter when the infant was five months old.
That’s because at the time of the C-section birth, Yamaguchi was in a coma and suffering from COVID-19.
And that’s just part of the story.
The Seal Beach resident soon would become the first COVID-19 patient at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to undergo a double lung transplant. She also was one of the hospital’s first COVID patients to be placed on a life support machine often described by experts as a “Hail Mary.
In December 2020, Yamaguchi was 36 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with Covid-19 and Maren was delivered by C-section, though she wouldn’t meet her for another five months.
Yamaguchi suffered a series of mini-strokes. And she had to relearn how to walk. At one point, her feet were put into casts so she could again push flat against the ground.
In August, after some eight months in hospitals and a rehab center, Yamaguchi went home.
Since then, every week has brought a new milestone. And as she has settled into life with husband Danny Levin and their daughter, Maren Marie, Yamaguchi has developed a strong appreciation for things that are easy to take for granted.”
We are all Kintsugi heroes because we all share in and learn from the collective experiences of everyone who has been affected by Covid.
Kintsugi has endured and fascinated people for at least five centuries and its longevity may be due to its tender embrace of cracks and chips.
Mahatma Gandhi said: “My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents.”
Let us pray that in the months ahead, we will slowly be “repaired” with blessings and heal to full recovery in the durable and beautiful manner of the kintsugi!
___________________________________________
Author’s email: [email protected]
