Trust the Detour

 

When I was working I remember sitting in my office thinking "I just want to fucking kill myself."  There were many factors contributing to this.  I wish I had quit.  When I lost my job I actually felt bad about it for months.  Now I ask myself why.

This saying "Trust the Detour" is supposed to be from Japanese philosophy.  I read that in fact it isn't directly from the philosophy but there are some connections. 

The saying is about reframing negative events.  Missed the bus?  Maybe you avoided an accident.  Didn't get the job?  Maybe it was the wrong place for you. 

Kintsugi ("golden joinery") is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using a special lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Rather than hiding the cracks or throwing the item away, kintsugi highlights the damage, turning the break lines into a luminous part of the object.

 A broken object is not considered ruined or less valuable; instead, its fractures tell a story. The repair process makes the piece rarer and often more resilient than it was originally.

Turning Adversity into Strength: Applied to personal life, the philosophy teaches that emotional wounds, trauma, and aging are not things to be hidden or ashamed of. Like the golden seams, personal scars become a testament to survival, growth, and unique character.

I just ran into a former co-worker at the grocery store.  My former company let go of one third of the salary workforce.  The stock price is down more than 80%.  My vile former boss was fired.   

Who would want to live through that?   Maybe I was actually lucky.