Well, did I get your attention with the title? I read about wabi sabi last year and have been intrigued by it ever since. It is a Japanese philosophy that has many translations. The one that resonates for me is – simplicity, beauty of age and wear. It is the honoring of those things that are natural and the imperfections of aging, not only of people but also of things. We live in a society that reveres the new, sleek, slim, fast, perfect … This year I am focusing on wabi sabi.I had a jolt this morning when I looked in the mirror and noticed some new lines and had the immediate reaction of “where’s the lotion?” Then I thought about wabi sabi and that I can honor those lines seeing them as all of the times I have laughed, smiled in joy, cried with a friend, or turned my face to the elements and basked in the beauty of the current weather. Wabi sabi includes the honoring of the life lived and the acceptance of the beauty of aging.
Wabi sabi does not only have to do with the physical aspect of a person. It also can be about the cozy sweater that needs a patch, the plate with a chip on the side, the cookbook filled with spatters. You don’t have to throw any of them away – instead create a patch for your sweater to give it new life, laugh about how the chip was created, and remember the many meals shared. Wabi sabi is noticing the beauty of the imperfect.
Wabi sabi doesn’t mean becoming a hoarder – keeping and holding on to all the things that no longer work. It’s about looking at the natural things in your life, keeping and honoring the things that you love. That includes you! I think wabi sabi has to do with our idea of perfection and recognizing that perfection doesn’t mean looking shiny and new, symmetrical and flawless. Sometimes the “flaws” are what add character.
I love the lyric by singer-songwriter, Leonard Cohen, “There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” We don’t have to be perfect. How can you see yourself differently if you look through the lens of wabi sabi?
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