Honor Your Scars◆ with the Art of Kintsugi 化缺陷為美麗的金繼修補藝術 This Japanese art form shows how to find beauty in brokenness. 這種日本藝術形式展現如何從破損中找出它美的一面。
If you’ve ever broken a favorite mug, plate, or bowl, you’ve likely gone through several stages of sorrow. You might even hopelessly try to glue all the pieces back together, but of course, it doesn’t look as good as it did before. You could pay someone to fix it and make it look new again, but this would cost a lot of money and take too long. Tossing it would be an option, but there is another way. The Japanese art of kintsugi shines with broken pottery. This tradition, which means “golden seams” or “golden joinery◆,” uses lacquer◆ mixed with gold, silver, or platinum◆ to fix an object. Kintsugi celebrates the damage of broken pottery and turns the brokenness into something beautiful. It treats the whole breaking incident like a happy accident. Its origins are uncertain, but kintsugi is believed to have started in Japan in the 15th or 16th century. We could all use the message of kintsugi in our everyday lives. Things fall apart and nobody is perfect. That’s life. But the beauty is in picking yourself up after failure or loss. After all, scars are what give us character.
1. honor vt. 表彰，表揚，給……榮譽 A special ceremony was held to honor the scientist for his achievements. 為了表揚那位科學家的成就，所以舉辦了一場特殊儀式。
2. brokenness n. 破碎；崩壞 After the innocent man was sentenced to 20 years in prison, people became angry at the brokenness of the legal system. 那名無辜男子被判刑坐牢二十年後，人們對於法律制度的崩壞感到憤怒。 * sentence vt. 判刑
3. sorrow n. 悲傷，悲痛，難過 The family members of the murder victim began sobbing with sorrow when they learned of the terrible news. 謀殺案受害人家屬得知可怕的消息後開始悲傷啜泣。 * sob vi. 啜泣
4. hopelessly adv. 絕望地；徹底地 Mera hopelessly told Arthur that she had no choice but to marry the king. 梅拉絕望地告訴亞瑟她別無選擇只能嫁給國王。
5. option n. 選擇；可選擇的東西 have no option but to V 別無選擇只好…… Because the airport was closed, we had no option but to drive home. 因為機場關閉，我們別無選擇只好開車回家。
6. pottery n. 陶器（不可數） That village is home to some of the finest pottery in Taiwan. 那個村子是臺灣一些最精緻的陶器的出產地。
7. uncertain a. 不確定的；未知的 Oliver is uncertain about what he wants to do after graduation. 奧利佛不確定畢業後要做什麼。
8. pick oneself up （某人）自己重新振作起來 Nobody knows if Mandy will ever pick herself up after her divorce. 沒人知道曼蒂離婚後是否能再重新振作起來。
◆ scar n. 外觀的破壞；疤痕 ◆ joinery n. 木工（手藝） ◆ lacquer n.（用於木材或金屬表面的）漆，亮漆 ◆ platinum n. 鉑，白金
seam 的相關用法 本文中的名詞 seam 表「（尤指縫合兩塊布或皮革的）線縫，接縫」，可引申為「計畫；組織；人際關係」等意思，相關片語為 be coming / falling apart at the seams，表「（計畫）接近失敗；（組織）分崩離析；（人際關係）破裂」等意思。例：
The bags the shop sells have very strong seams, so they will last for years. （這間店賣的袋子縫線處非常牢固，所以可耐用好幾年。）
Jack’s marriage to Jennifer is coming apart at the seams. （傑克和珍妮佛的婚姻已瀕臨破裂。）
