I’ve noticed, that my enjoyment of crafts have changed my view on life. I previously always wanted everything to be in pristine condition and didn’t hesitate to replace stuff. Now with age, and with the spare time to fix stuff, I’ve learned to enjoy things, that I’ve fixed instead of replaced. This acceptance of transience and imperfections is called Wabi-sabi.
Whether it’s been fixing my kids sleds, my aquarium lamp, my neighbours porcelain (kintsugi is the epitome of Wabi-Sabi) or even my pyjama pants (pictures in the header), I’ve realized that I carry and show the imperfections with a pride like feeling.
I used to use stuff that break easily and are so cheap, that it’s cheaper to replace them than fix them. The recent findings about the sheer volume of micro plastics in our daily lives as well as the already famous plastic vortexes rolling in the seas have made me think about our consuming behaviors. We buy prepackaged food, clothes for one season only, trinkets and “necessities” on a whim and casually toss them away when we don’t need them.
Brighter future
Luckily waste is recycled more and more. In Sweden, there’s already shortage of waste and they import it from other countries to be used as fuel. Nevertheless, I feel that we should all accept minor flaws and celebrate repair marks as scars that’s prove the item and the bearer share a history and a story.
So fix things when they break and when you see something fixed, ask the owner about the story of the imperfection. That’s how I’ve embraced wabi-sabi.