Here’s to a year of glitter and the worn beauty of wabi sabi.
\u00a9 Kameleon007\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

Cultural Tradition with a Dash of Wabi Sabi<\/h2>\n

\n
• Eat healthier.<\/li>\n
• Get more exercise.<\/li>\n
• Lose weight.<\/li>\n
• Learn a language.<\/li>\n
• Save more money.<\/li>\n
• (Make more money!)<\/li>\n
• Master a new skill.<\/li>\n
• Read more.<\/li>\n
• Spend quality time with friends and family.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

  Yes, it\u2019s that time of year again. A transition to a new annual chapter. A time to turn the page. Start fresh. And make a New Year\u2019s resolution or two . . . or three\u2014rising to the challenge of self-improvement and accomplishing new goals.<\/p>\n

  These days, the percentage of people making New Year\u2019s resolutions seems to be steadily declining. And the percentage of those keeping their resolutions dives even lower.<\/p>\n

  I admit to being in this latter category. Resolutions made. Resolutions broken (usually by sometime in January).<\/p>\n

  So why not take a different tack? Why not embrace wabi sabi?<\/em><\/p>\n

  

  A few chips and nicks give an antiquity character.
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  Celebrating Imperfection<\/h4>\n

  Wabi sabi <\/em>is a Japanese aesthetic that celebrates imperfection. The tradition treasures how we\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>rather than how we should be.\u00a0<\/em>How things are\u00a0<\/em>rather than how they might be shaped toward some manufactured ideal.<\/p>\n

  

  An intentional rogue thread to introduce imperfection
  \u00a9 DMT<\/p><\/div>\n

  Once one accepts wabi sabi, the pressure of achieving perfection is relieved. Understanding wabi sabi is a creative counterbalance to those overachieving resolutions.<\/p>\n

  

  The beauty of age and wear
  \u00a9 DMT<\/p><\/div>\n

  Lost in Translation<\/h4>\n

  The discussions of wabi sabi often say that to dissect the words is alien to the philosophy. The words cannot be accurately translated.<\/p>\n

  At the risk of sacrilege, the word wabi <\/em>loosely translates to \u201crustic simplicity\u201d\u2014a tendency to be humble by choice and to be in tune with nature.<\/p>\n

  

  In tune with nature
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  The word sabi <\/em>loosely translates to \u201cthe beauty of age and wear\u201d\u2014an appreciation of changes due to the passage of time.<\/p>\n

  The most often cited definition comes from author Leonard Koren<\/a>: the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.<\/p>\n

  Or, stated another way by Richard Powell<\/a>, \u201cNothing lasts. Nothing is finished. Nothing is perfect.\u201d Although this sounds a bit depressing, the philosophy is actually liberating, especially when we incorporate wabi sabi into everyday life.<\/p>\n

  

  “Nothing is finished.” The building continues its transition through the ages.
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  Wabi Sabi in Everyday Life<\/h4>\n

  Wabi sabi can appear through the natural things we discover\u2014a decaying leaf signifying the coming of winter, a rumpled feather from a free-flying hawk, or a shell shaped by a lifetime of crashing waves.<\/p>\n

  

  Finding beauty in the everyday discoveries
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  We might also experience wabi sabi in the worn items we find at a flea market or in a cluttered attic, in the scars buried in the bark of trees chronicling the natural cycle of growth, or in the visible repairs made to family treasures to lengthen their life.<\/p>\n

  

  Layers of natural history are evident in the bark of a tree.
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  The idea of rustic elegance and the beauty of age originally came from the Japanese tea ceremony,<\/a> where the beauty of the tea bowls was found in their asymmetry, imperfections in the glaze, or in the changing colors of the ceramics over time and with frequent use.<\/p>\n

  

  Appreciating the beauty of wabi sabi imperfections, which lend character to the artistry
  \u00a9 RobertLi_SHA\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

  Appreciating the Cracks<\/h4>\n

  
  \nThere\u2019s a crack in everything. That\u2019s how the light gets in.
  \n<\/em>\u2014Leonard Cohen<\/p>\n

  With wabi sabi, we distance ourselves from perfection, symmetry, ideal proportions, mathematical approaches, overconsumption, and luxury.<\/p>\n

  Instead, we treasure what is fragile and unheroic. The flaws leave room for exploration . . . for growth . . . for artistry. We learn to appreciate what we have rather than yearning for \u201cnew\u201d and \u201cmore.\u201d<\/p>\n

  

  The lines of wisdom and history
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  We appreciate the lines etched in our elders\u2019 faces, expressing the wisdom and life history that come with growing older. We cherish the dents and stains on a dining room table, all of which have stories to tell.<\/p>\n

  The Japanese art of Kintsugi\u00a0<\/em>appreciates the cracks of time. When well-worn ceramic pieces need repair, the cracks are filled with gold lacquer. The beauty of age is highlighted rather than hidden.<\/p>\n

  

  A repair in gold, using the art of Kintsugi, where the crack is highlighted, not hidden
  \u00a9 PhotoBeard\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

  Resolving Imperfection<\/h4>\n

  Given my new \u201cOh, I See\u201d<\/strong>understanding of the Japanese cultural traditions of wabi sabi, this aesthetic will be a part of my New Year\u2019s resolutions for 2019. I will opt for rustic simplicity and incorporate wabi sabi into my life.<\/p>\n

  No, this isn\u2019t a way to avoid self-improvement. I still plan to eat healthier, learn a language, lose weight, and save more money.<\/p>\n

  

  The handmade sculpture is as beautiful as the classic marble statue.
  \u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

  But I also vow to see things differently. I don\u2019t need to buy more things or focus on human imperfections (mine and others\u2019).<\/p>\n

  I just need to appreciate the imperfections as well as the strengths and open my mind to different kinds of beauty.<\/p>\n

  Happy New Year to all!<\/p>\n

  

  This Navajo bowl has an intentional thumbprint at the bottom. Imperfection at its best.
  \u00a9 DMT<\/p><\/div>\n

  Comment<\/a><\/i>\u00a0on this post below, or inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":33018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,217],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heritage-culture","category-japan-mappoints"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32974"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40943,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32974\/revisions\/40943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}