damage and wear are a part of everyday life. we age, we go grey, we wrinkle and sag (most of us). we change. it’s not a state of affairs that we are comfortable with in the west. at every turn we see the next wave of products and potions that tempt us into thinking that we can halt the passage of time and retain a constant impression of ourselves. there is an interesting parallel here with the way we treat our things, the objects we buy and adorn ourselves and our dwellings with.

i recently took ownership of an apple macbook laptop. i have owned it now for about six months. yesterday i noticed a microscopic chip on the front left corner, next to the keyboard. i was upset. my thing had changed. the passage of time had revealed itself and i wasn’t happy. there is evidence of this reaction wherever we look and i know that it has happened to you. (if it hasn’t, you lucky thing, it’s a horrible state of affairs) i shouldn’t be upset, i know this, it’s just an object, a vehicle for writing papers, sending emails and connecting with the world. so why does it irk me so?

part of the answer lies in the fact western culture has been brought up on the idea that new=best. a fact that i’m sure permeates the east too but the lack of appreciation of the old, the used, the worn, seems to be a failing of the western world. there is a concept in japan, a state of mind and ethos that is closely connected with zen called wabi-sabi. in its two parts it means the passage of time (wabi) and the beauty of impermanence and imperfection (sabi). its a concept that intrigues me and seems to point at a new way of conceptualising our relationship with materials and material goods. it also frustrates me that i don’t have a tacit understanding of it to make me not be upset when i chip my laptop.

i wonder if it is even possible for us to fully engage with wabi-sabi. it is so far removed from the consumer culture we have and contrary to the ideals of rapidly obsolescing consumer technology that i doubt it will ever become a part of the way we think about things.

unless…..