Scars That Shine

Scars That Shine

Kintsugi (pronounced “kin-tsoo-gee”) is the beautiful Japanese technique of mending broken objects. With gold, silver, or platinum, they fill cracks and reunite shards not only enhancing the object’s original beauty, but making it stronger as well.

What an intriguing metaphor for life; we have a choice to let life break us apart without thought of repair, or we can search for the lessons of those moments that turn out to be the liquid metal that pulls us back together again.

Too often we hide the flaws of our life thinking it’ll make us appear more perfect, when really the beauty lies in our imperfections, and how we have changed for the better in spite of the things that once left us shattered.

That said, it takes time to heal. The pieces must be gathered. The precious metal needs to be melted, applied, and

let to cool. Healing is an art - a messy, messy art.

Just like anyone else, my body carries the physical scars of my past. But some are far more unique than others: the discoloration on my joints and calcium deposits on my elbows from one of my autoimmune diseases.

Then there’s a chemo burn on the inside of my bicep where the chemicals damaged the vein beneath.

I used to want to hide these marks - painful reminders of how unfair life had been to me as a child and young adult. I couldn’t see it then, but now I realize it’s how I can help others.

True Grit was founded with deep meaning behind it, yet I was mimicking everyone else in the health and fitness space by sharing educational post intended to be helpful. But they weren’t landing, no matter how much I tried, only the people who already understood what I was talking about resonated.

Now, I’ve made a massive pivot, knowing my story - scars and all - are what needs to be heard and felt.

And so I want to welcome you to the first Spark. One of many that I hope makes you felt seen, inspired, and supported in all of our golden flaws.