G
'Tis the season....for Wabi-Sabi. For those of you who aren't
familiar with this term, it is a Japanese aesthetic honoring and
celebrating the beauty of imperfection. Wow, what an amazing reframing
of our obsession with perfection, especially during the holiday season!
I have written about the concept of wabi-sabi on this blog and you may want to read some of the archived posts. I recently came across another wonderful Japanese term, related to the essence o
f wabi-sabi called kintsugi ("golden joinery").
Kintsugi is the centuries-old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a special lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Instead of discarding treasures when they become broken, they are repaired with jewel-like metal; acknowledging, with visibility, that while they may have once been broken they are now strengthened, and more valuable because of their repair. What a message of resilience not just for pottery but for ourselves. Repairing with gold the scars of a life well-lived as a indication of resilience is a metaphor that I can wholeheartedly embrace.
Will you join me this holiday season in using the gold and silver glittering decorations as reminders to engage in the practice wabi-sabi and kintsugi? Let's celebrate the beauty of imperfection and acknowledge the strength and courage of repairing adversity with gold.
'Tis the season....for Wabi-Sabi. For those of you who aren't
familiar with this term, it is a Japanese aesthetic honoring and
celebrating the beauty of imperfection. Wow, what an amazing reframing
of our obsession with perfection, especially during the holiday season!I have written about the concept of wabi-sabi on this blog and you may want to read some of the archived posts. I recently came across another wonderful Japanese term, related to the essence o
f wabi-sabi called kintsugi ("golden joinery"). Kintsugi is the centuries-old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a special lacquer dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. Instead of discarding treasures when they become broken, they are repaired with jewel-like metal; acknowledging, with visibility, that while they may have once been broken they are now strengthened, and more valuable because of their repair. What a message of resilience not just for pottery but for ourselves. Repairing with gold the scars of a life well-lived as a indication of resilience is a metaphor that I can wholeheartedly embrace.
Will you join me this holiday season in using the gold and silver glittering decorations as reminders to engage in the practice wabi-sabi and kintsugi? Let's celebrate the beauty of imperfection and acknowledge the strength and courage of repairing adversity with gold.
Happy Holidays...wishing you a month of celebrating wabi-sabi and kintsugi,
Pam