In Japan, there's a tradition known as Kintsugi, in which broken objects are mended using glue mixed with finely powdered gold. The results are stunning! Rather than tossing or replacing them, these objects carry their golden "scars" like precious prizes... becoming all the more valuable for having them. In a related practice called Sakiori, old clothes or rags are torn apart and are then rewoven to become beautiful, one-of-a-kind fabrics.
The lesson? Rather than disgracing or replacing things, we, too, can learn to see the possibilities they hold.
Consider the natural world, where nothing is ever truly wasted. There's always someone or something else that can make use of another's discards. A hole in a tree, forged by a woodpecker last season, might become the perfect home to an owl this season. Fallen trees may host plant life and shelter all sorts of creatures... who will, in turn, pave the way for future growth. Even stones erode into sand, and that sand forges new features in the landscape. Everything is created and recreated--often carrying out multiple roles in the cycle of life.
Now apply that to the physical objects we interact with every day. The idea that everything has not just one purpose, but potentially many is at the heart of a "waste not" mentality. Kabbalah teaches that everything in our lives serves a purpose and becomes part of our wholeness. Yet we still get to choose how and what to include in that "everything." In other words, we can enrich our lives even more by seeing possibilities for renewal in things--just as we do in ourselves.
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