Wabi Sabi is
handmade. Its flea markets, farmer’s markets
and antique stores. It’s the green
patina on aged copper, an elegant china tea cup with a chip, rustic French
bread, steps worn from years of use, the lines on our faces, the snaggle in our
tooth, the light in our eyes. Wabi Sabi
things tend to have some trait that distinguishes them. They look, feel and even taste differently. It could be the slight asymmetry of blown
glass or the hammer marks in forged metal.
It could be the sweet tart taste of a wild apple or the thick texture of
handmade paper. It’s believed that these
qualities only add luster and depth to the object. The chips, cracks, and worn edges are part of
the story and what make it lovable. It accepts
impermanence as part of life, change as inevitable, and beauty being intrinsic.
Our culture has
forgotten perhaps what natural things look like. Much of what we see, eat and buy has become
homogenized, massed produced and stamped out.
We’ve come to expect things to be symmetrical, smooth, refined, perfect
and packaged. While those are fine
qualities, Wabi Sabi offers a different perspective.
It allows
things to be as they are. It finds
beauty and meaning in the imperfection of things, in the gray areas of
life. It understands that these changes,
imperfections, and quirks add authenticity and richness to life. It values and finds a place on the shelf and
in the cupboard for those things that differ. It understands that it
is through nature and nurture through experience and lack through what it has
endured and hasn't that one's natural beauty becomes clear.
