Sunday, August 14, 2016

Wabi Sabi

Okay you've never heard of "Wabi Sabi."  Well it was a new one to me too.  Nope...it's not a nomadic African tribe. Nope...it's not a plant used as a pungent condiment in Japanese cooking.

I first ran across this term while perusing an internet story on the restoration of a beautiful old relic: The Chateau de Gudanes in Dordone, France.  Chateau de Gudanes



There are a number of slightly varying definitions, but if you condense them all, WABI-SABI means:
PATINA
SERENITY
QUIETNESS
FRESHNESS
RUSTIC SIMPLICITY
UNDERSTATED ELEGANCE
NATURAL FLAWED BEAUTY
REVERENCE FOR AUTHENTICITY
BEAUTY THAT COMES WITH AGE


Looking around my house I find my own version of "Wabi-Sabiness." My house is filled with things I love that have no special value or meaning to anyone else except family.  I have my own "cracked teakettle," I have candle "cages" and have no idea what they were originally, nor do I care because though they are old and rusted, they are just too cool and no one else has them.Then there's my old concrete French cherubs with the patina of many years. When I walk by and glance at them they bring me joy and fill my soul because there's a special story that goes with them. And my patio is the one place in the world that I most love to be.  The antique French chairs are chipping and rusting to show the layers of blue and white paint accented with rust.  They are just my size and oh so comfortable.  Wouldn't have them any other way.




But most of all, I can relate to what "Wabi Sabi" says about me! I'd like to think that life has created a special patina on me.  And hopefully a beauty and grace that comes with age.  The bags under my eyes, the saggy skin, and graying hair have created that certain flawed beauty. And I hope that a rustic simplicity alongside a quietness and serenity are who I am becoming. I'd like to think the my chinks and cracks are being filled with gold by My Maker and He's making repairs that make me more "beautiful" than ever.





 

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