Kintsugi, like sonder, is one of those words that has no direct equivalent in English. As a practice it stands in direct opposition to our society’s conventional wisdom.
It’s a method of repair of items, like ceramic pots or dishes, that have been broken into several pieces. In the reassembly process the cracks are filled with gold so that, instead of disappearing they stand out. It’s seen as a recognition of the history of the piece, including the breakage.
We tend to prefer invisible repairs so the piece looks as if it were never broken. The practice of kintsugi says, instead, that here is a piece that has been broken but is still useful, still serviceable, and is beautiful in a very different way than it was before it was broken.
I like that a lot.