[W]abi-sabi as the Japanese philosophy of appreciating things that are imperfect, primitive and incomplete…

Intimately tied to Zen Buddhism and the Japanese Way of Tea, wabi-sabi is a subtly spiritual philosophy that sees home as a sanctuary — a simple place devoid of clutter, disturbance and distraction. Through wabi-sabi’s lens, everything in a home — from the breakfast table to the attic windows — presents an opportunity to see beauty, because beauty is ordinary.

Honoring modest living and the ever-changing moment, wabi-sabi finds beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, accepting the cycle of growth, decay and death. It’s slow and uncluttered, and regards authenticity above all. Wabi-sabi is flea markets, not warehouse stores; aged wood, not laminate. Minimalist wabi-sabi respects age and celebrates humans over invulnerable machines. It finds beauty in cracks and crevices and all the marks that time, weather and use leave behind. It reminds us that we are transient beings — that our bodies and the material world around us are in the process of returning to the dust from which they came. Through wabi-sabi, we learn to embrace both the glory and the impersonal sadness of liver spots, rust and frayed edges, and the march of time they represent.

In a wabi-sabi home, possessions are pared down, then pared down again, to those that are necessary for their utility or beauty (ideally, both)…

Whether admiring simple windowsill flowers in your suburban home or savoring tea in a hand-thrown mug on your rural homestead, wabi-sabi shows that there is value to be treasured in the simple and imperfect, no matter where you hang your — preferably well-loved and well-worn — hat.

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Community: This idea fits well with what we’ve been seeing about the benefits of mindfulness (increasing well-being, relieving anxiety and improving mood, conquering emotional eating, losing weight, boosting will power, managing pain, harmonizing body and mind, and beneficially changing brain structure). Read the whole article for the “12 Ways to Wabi-Sabi.”

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