I first learned of the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi many years ago. It is a tool for contemplation, or a philosophy of life, that finds beauty in things that are impermanent, imperfect, and incomplete. In other words, it’s the notion that patina; wear and tear; chips, cracks, and fissures; assymetry; flaws; and defects actually make things more interesting.
I immediately loved this concept of Wabi Sabi, and I felt almost relieved to read about it. It was like discovering that there was a word for the way I’d always thought about life.
You see, a Wabi Sabi house is not a sleek loft with a-line furniture and stainless steel appliances. It’s clean, but it’s comfortable, and it might be full of lopsided ceramics, handmade art, knitted blankets, quilts, and weathered antiques, a little bit like my house.
And a Wabi-Sabi person is not perfectly made up with gleaming white teeth, manicured nails, and tailored clothes. She is content with who she is, and she enjoys a simple life stripped of what is unnecessary. And that’s exactly what I’ve always wanted.
It’s useful for me to remember my fondness for the concept of Wabi Sabi on days like today when I finally woke up (for the tenth time in a few hours) for good at six a.m. with my fussy seventeen-month old and that phrase “sleeping through the night” that parenting experts seem to like to bandy about made me want to laugh maniacally.
Or, when I glance around my home office, which I always envisioned would be a tidy, peaceful sanctuary of sorts, and see the fifty or so books that my son dutifully removed from the shelves and spread across the floor alongside his trucks, Legos, and blocks.
Yes, this life, with work and home-life woven together, feels a little cobbled together sometimes, a little taped up at the seams, and I’m quite sure there are some cracks lurking here and there.
But that’s exactly the way I always wanted it to be.
This post is for Steady Mom’s 30 Minute Blog Challenge.
Sounds like a concept I need to learn more about!!! Babies have a way of frustrating the living daylights out of you & then turning around & charming your soxs off, don’t they?! (All within 10 seconds, usually!)
Found your blog through Steady Mom’s!
Oh, you said it wonderfully.
Wabi sabi, huh? I like this concept.
I would like to know more about it.
Thank you for this post. I discovered you via the blog challenge.
Motherhood brings out the Wabi Sabi in me that;s for sure . I totally love your teapot!!! Great post…
Wabi Sabi, love it .
What a great explanation. I have heard of this a few times, but now I feel like I really know what it’s about.
I love it! Didn’t know there was a name for the way I feel best – and a pretty sweet name at that 🙂
Thanks for the post! It well describes my life (especially the part about the 17-month old that doesn’t sleep through the night).
Thank you for this post! I’ve heard of wabi sabi as a way of living simply, but beautifully, but I really like your addition of welcoming and embracing imperfection. It reminds me of the idea of not resisting but going with the flow and with presence, accepting what is.
Good luck with your pockets of sleep!
This sounds a lot like our life and home. I’ve never wanted a perfectly manicured anything… and I appreciate the way you put this into words.
This comes so long after your post, but the article has one of those sentiments that holds true for so many people. Sadly, there are still many who chase perfection at all costs.
Your post shows comfort; it shows a place and most of all a person who I would love to sit with in the yard, on the porch with a cup of whatever. People now a days are too much in a rush, rushing to get to nowhere, but nevertheless rushing. As I sit in front of a sunny window, basking in the warmth of the sun, I thank you. As I sit and think about everyone’s ‘junk’ in my sanctuary/sewing room, I thank you. Thank you for that little ‘peace’ of humanity.
This post was beautifully written. Know what? I think we need to start a Wabi Sabi movement. None of us can live up to the stupid ideal Hollywood advances as beauty, not even actresses who look quite plain without make-up.