February 24, 2014

Wabi-Sabi

Iglesia de San Francisco, Antiqua, Gratemala
Mr. Fix-It and I were down in Nashville this week. The land of yesteryear, where recycling is a new concept, folks are still smoking in bars, and where life is lead with conservative thought. 

We had some really good BBQ however and were fortunate to feel the warm spring sun upon our faces. Not to mention the friendly people, good music, and wide open spaces. 

I missed the wabi-sabi of New England however. 

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection. "Wabi" is the kind of beauty that is caused by imperfection, such as found in a handmade vase. "Sabi" is the kind of beauty that can come only with age, such as the beauty of older people. 

Wabi-sabi is flea markets and antiques, not big-box stores and man-made building materials. Wabi-sabi celebrates the cracks and crevices that time leaves behind.

Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace the lines on our face, furniture that has seen better days, the vase of no longer perky flowers, and the march of time they represent.

What if we could be content with our lives, exactly as they are today?

That is the wabi-sabi question I leave us with.

Special thanks to both Liz and Sandi for educating me on wabi-sabi.

For further reading on the wabi-sabi of our perfectly imperfect bodies click here.

Have a wonderfully wabi-sabi week :-)