Emi And Her Broken Teacup - For The Young At Heart

Once upon a time,

In a quiet village in Japan,

There lived a wise old potter named Mr.

Hiroshi.

He was famous for creating the most beautiful pottery in the land.

One day,

A little girl named Emi visited his shop.

Emi was downtrodden as she walked slowly in.

She was sad because her favourite teacup,

Given to her by her grandmother,

Had fallen to the floor and it had broken into pieces.

With tears in her eyes,

The little girl showed the broken pieces to Mr.

Hiroshi.

Can you fix it,

She said.

Mr.

Hiroshi smiled gently.

Of course,

My dear.

But I will not just fix it.

I will make it even more beautiful.

He took out a small jar of golden lacquer and carefully began to put the pieces together,

Filling each crack with gold.

As Mr.

Hiroshi worked,

He explained,

This is our art of Kintsugi.

It teaches us that when something is broken,

It can be repaired with love and care,

And it can be made even more beautiful.

When the work was finished,

The teacup was even more beautiful than before,

With golden lines showing where it had been fixed.

Oh,

Thank you very much,

Mr.

Hiroshi,

Emi said.

She was so happy.

The old man nodded.

Remember,

Emi,

Life is like this teacup.

We all face moments when we feel broken.

But those cracks,

When we heal them,

Can become our strength and our beauty.

Mr.

Hiroshi gently handed the teacup to Emi.

She left his shop feeling so much happiness.

A little while earlier,

She had walked slowly and sadly into his shop.

Now she danced excitedly all the way home.

There aren't many lessons for us in this little story.

Naturally,

The idea that we should try to fix what is broken,

Rather than immediately thinking of it as trash.

So much work and energy goes into the cost of producing anything,

That we should have more respect and try to make the best possible use of something that has cost the earth.

And in our own lives as well,

It's a good idea to be reminded that we can be fixed,

That we don't have to live forever with our mistakes.

And in the same way,

We should be kind to people who have made mistakes and always be prepared to give them a second chance.

Namaste.