Why Wabi -Sabi Is the Life That You Need to Lead
We spend most of our lives trying to better ourselves; eat better, dress better, look better, and be better. We find ourselves getting upset about the little things. We lose our keys, we arrive late to a meeting, our house is a mess, we didn’t pay our bills on time, and it just seems like everything is falling apart every time we lose control of something. But there is another way to live; accepting imperfections whether it comes to ourselves or our lives is beautiful and freeing, just like Wabi-sabi aesthetics.
Wabi-sabi comes from traditional Japanese aesthetics and is the outlook or worldview centered on accepting the perfection in imperfection.
In other words, it is finding the beauty in the broken, the imperfect, the asymmetrical, the roughness, and the natural processes that come out of it. It is recognizing and appreciating the simplicity, wrinkles, cracks, and the natural evolution in all aspects of life. It is accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay.
Although the idea of Wabi-sabi originates from Japanese culture, according to Wikipedia, it is influenced by a concept derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence (三法印 sanbōin). This teaching specifically includes impermanence (無常 mujō), suffering (苦 ku), and emptiness or absence of self-nature (空 kū)
Wabi-sabi aesthetics can be found in anything from art to pottery and even fashion; inexact yet beautiful paintings, chipped dishes and bowls, eccentric and asymmetrical fashion.
This piece is a strong example of beautiful imperfection. Layers of colors that fade into each other unpolished ridges add character.
Wilde Vertigga, a gender neutral fashion lines creates asymmetrical clothing that takes inspiration by Wabi-sabi. With these boots there is an asymmetric line that connects between the pair and one is a boot and one is a shoe. Ridges and a worn look add to the charm of these boots.
Also from the same collection is this crooked, asymmetrical dress that really redefines beauty.
Stop focusing on the flaws and discover the beauty of being different.
