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Have you ever heard of wabi-sabi?
Wabi-sabi (n) a way of living that focuses on the beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycles of growth and decay.
Wabi-sabi is a a japanese principle that refers to the appreciation of those beautiful, fleeting moments in life that exist in the most natural part of the world. It’s almost the complete opposite of the western ideal of perfection – where everything that is beautiful is clean and sterile, matching and symmetrical, flawless and fashionable. Instead wabi-sabi is about valuing all that is imperfect… understanding that some of the most beautiful things are fleeting. It’s about embracing the cracks in life and loving them for the deep stories that they tell. It’s a relatively new term for me, but one that I realise that I embraced unknowingly in many areas of my life. The lines on my hands, that tell a story of my past… The old dented table in our lounge… the leaves on our front path… the dishes in the sink. They are all results of moments in life that were lived with honesty and humility. They are all signs of the passing of time… the changes in both emotional and physical seasons.
It’s not about a lack of care, but instead about letting go of being ‘perfect’ and enjoying where we are, right now, bumps and all.
I don’t share a lot of pictures of our home or our living space. It’s something I do on purpose… but when I was asked to do so by a lovely virtual friend of mine, I couldn’t help but oblige as As a part of the beautiful Wabi Sabi series on the lovely blog Our Buzzards
I talk a bit about my relationship with my home, my mess and I share a few very rare pictures of our little home. You can have a look at the post here… I urge you to spend some time in Rachel’s beautiful space, you definitely won’t regret it.
Does your home reflect wabi-sabi?
Linda Uzubalis - Hey Sash, we practice wabi-sabi in our home as part of our day-to-day life. My husband and I first came across the concept when we went to Japan for the first time (many years ago now) and have embraced it wholeheartedly.
We don’t believe that shiny and new = the best… that said, we do live in a new house, lovingly designed and (mostly) built by us. Our kitchen may not have a history, flaws or cracks, but in my mind, it doesn’t make our home less wabi-sabi, it just means we are the start of the history. We mix the old with the new – each part carefully considered so as not to overwhelm and create chaos.
Beautiful post as always, Linda. x
Linda Uzubalis - I’d also like to add, that I try to teach my daughters about wabi-sabi through gentle living and simplicity. x
Sash - Love it Linda! Such a great attitude to have. I don’t think there is anything “wrong” with new, it’s mindless purchasing of new that I have an issue with… Having a new home is such a treat – and you’re right, all histories start somewhere. I think your attitude towards your home and your family is lovely 🙂 What a beautiful attitude to pass on to your children! x
Linda Uzubalis - Thanks Sash… we try really hard to be conscious consumers in our family. It’s not just about buying secondhand etc, rather we decide if we really need the item first. Can we make do without? Can we use something we already have to do the same job? Can we borrow what we need?
Building a house has been a massive learning curve for us in so many ways. It’s not as sustainable as we would have liked – but the reality of building was far different to what we initially dreamt. We’ve done our best though and improvements will continue to be made.
I loved your post today as well… I too believe people are inherently good. I have to believe that we all want to leave the world a better place for our kids. We are in the midst of a purge – we have years of belongings built up in storage (insane!) after moving around for our 20s. Now that we are settled, everything needs to be useful or off it goes to another family, charity store etc.
Thanks for posting so honestly. I often avoid writing about these issues for fear of offending – I really need to get some courage hey?!
Cheers, Linda. x
Angie - Love this and this post came just at the right time for me!!! Love reading your blog. Xx
Sash - Thanks Angie 🙂