By: Eileen Guo
If you’re looking to switch up your home, boost your happiness or even rethink how you view the world this year, consider the Japanese concept of wabi sabi, which encourages people to welcome life’s imperfections and accept ourselves for who we are.
Beth Kempton, author of Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life, found her enthusiasm for wabi sabi from visiting Japan for over 20 years. She’s used its lessons to inform how she interacts with nature, her home and the people in her life, embracing impermanence — a pillar of wabi sabi.
In her book, Kempton offers tips for navigating acceptance in tough situations, whether you’re struggling with rejection, marriage woes or simply the chaotic state of your house, by remembering that we are constantly changing. Kempton suggests trying to live through a week without expectations, so you can stay calm if things don’t go as planned. When we realize nothing is certain, we can skip the drama and head straight to acceptance.
None of us are perfect, and learning to accept our mistakes and imperfections will not only help us grow, but also be more comfortable in our own skin.
