Kintsugi Juggling

Do you ever feel like you’re balancing so many balls in the air and that if you drop one, the world will come crashing down?

I started my career in project management which meant I honed this natural skill of holding multiple projects with hundreds of tasks and resources up in the air, keeping an eye on the advancement of each of them while multiple factors fluctuated. I used this skill at home, at work, all the time. Have you ever seen what happens when you let go? When either you’re forced to surrender control due to illness, a life changing event, or some random occurrence that disturbs the delicate balance?

Sometimes, it all comes crashing down and you have to pick up the pieces. What also happens is that you discover that some pieces need to be put back together immediately, and some pieces don’t.

Some of those balls you were juggling were also being partially balanced by another person who caught them when you slipped. Other balls weren’t that important after all and when they came crashing down, it removed an unnecessary activity/project. Then there are those balls that are important. Most times, you can pick them up, brush yourself off and start all over again. The ones you can’t are the ones related to mortality, and that control was never fully in your hands in the first place. For the most part however, it is important to acknowledge that no matter how skilled you are at playing the balancing act, if you don’t take care of yourself, the balls will eventually come crashing down. Last year I went on a trip to Japan with my husband. While we were in Kyoto, we saw an artist practicing the art of Kintsugi. Kintsugi is an ancient Japanese technique to fix broken pottery or glass. In the technique, lacquer is used to connect each broken part and then gold and silver is put on the surface. This makes the repaired item not only functional, but beautiful and even more valuable than in its original form. The tea cup pictured here had its chips filled in with gold. In its new form, it makes for a decadent cup of matcha tea!

I recently transitioned out of a very important role where I was balancing multiple activities. As I transitioned, I found myself waking up in the middle of the night thinking of balls that might have dropped. I realized that if I didn’t focus on getting sleep, I wasn’t going to be effective in my new or current role. I also acknowledged that I had to get other team members to step up where I hadn’t fully delegated. Finally, I had to surrender to the fact that during the transition, there would be things I couldn’t control. Those balls would drop and either be terminated or reworked like Kinstsugi pottery: an opportunity to do things differently and perhaps more beautifully.

So remember, the next time you find yourself in one of life’s balancing acts:

1) put on your oxygen mask before you start juggling: take care of yourself! (Mind, body and soul)

2) you are never alone and asking for help is NOT a weakness

3) some things were meant to be broken so that they could be put back together in a better way!