Are you striving to have the perfect life ? What sort of way(s) are you looking through the lens of perfection? Does perfection mean: tidiness, cleanliness, orderliness, and planning? (Yes / in a superficial sense.) OR does perfection mean: not ideal..but we’re dealing A-OK, not good not bad, stabilization through imperfection, & gripping onto our tendencies and pulling them in a forward motion to help sustain our longevity?
I dunno. But as life unfolds, I’ve noticed how I’ve thought about achieving goals through a very microscopic proportion of what is available to me as a solution. Go ahead, what do you think the future might look like for you in 5-10 years? Personally, all I can stomach to think about is a 5 year forecast. Beyond that, it’s all projectile vomiting at a globe that’s spinning while I’m trying to point at a very specific place that I’d ideally like to land. Hmmm.
Wabi sabi. Ever heard of it?
I hadn’t until a few years ago. According to Beth Kempton, author of her book entitled ‘Wabi Sabi’ (big surprise!), ‘a wabi sabi lens can inspire to embrace soulful simplicity and treasure what we already have... It’s less about what we see, and more about how we see it.’
Embracing the imperfections, choosing to accept learning as the ultimate answer to a fulfilled life, and deemphasizing the negative persona surrounding imperfect objects, attitudes or relationships – wabi sabi is in constant fluid motion around us, leaning into the environments and behaviors we choose. There’s not one easy definitive line that characterizes a moment or object as wabi sabi.
I love wrapping my brain around this entire idea; it spirals and spins to catch up to all of the possibilities presenting themselves. And when I relay that back to interior design and how that can affect the mood and entire trajectory of infinite possibilities in our home and professional settings..let’s be real, it gets A LOT OVERWHELMING to think about.
So rather than sit and stew in the perfection of a past dream, take the blinders off of your eyeballs and really start to notice how the age, character, and dimension of a space is propelled into a sustainable goal of continued learning & fulfillment. Peel back the layers, don’t be afraid to share, and leave yourself visible cues of adaptability and transformation!
If you’re itching to find a huge chunk of wisdom behind Wabi Sabi as a lifestyle concept and reasonable approach to optimism, check out Beth Kempton’s book here. It’s a guaranteed magical literary journey :)
Check you later for more wisdom - hoping this post leaves you inspired to love the life you’ve already got :)))
xo, J