Accepting life's imperfections seems nonsense in a society that demands exactitude from us. However, an ancient Japanese philosophy proposes new perspectives and rhythms to our daily lives. Coming from Zen Buddhism – whose first principle is impermanence – wabi-sabi is present in several Japanese arts, such as the tea ceremony, ceramics, bonsai cultivation, the zen garden and ikebana.

Aesthetically, wabi-sabi can be identified by minimalism, for what is rustic, asymmetrical, irregular, artisanal. As well as by the use of natural, raw objects, such as wood, stones, metals and plants; environments that convey an intimate, modest and cozy atmosphere.

The wear and tear of time, incompleteness, inexorable impermanence and every kind of imperfection are not only admitted, but perceived as beautiful and sublime. A more comfortable way of living in the face of life and its inevitability, by welcoming what is as it is, since it values ​​the imperfection of things and people as attributes and natural consequences.

In Japan, there is another philosophy called kintsugi, which is analogous to wabi-sabi. The art of kintsugi, which consists of necklace with dusted lacquer, gold, silver or platinum objects that are broken, enhances the brand in the piece that tells its unique story. Likewise, considering the behavioral side, a change of point of view can lead us to see the beauty that also resides in what is imperceptible or undervalued. By respecting the cycles of time, we allow ourselves to face our scars as a means of honoring our life story and manifesting joy and happiness.

Another example is a material that has recently become popular among artisans and designers: knitted yarn. Coming from waste from the textile industry, what was previously seen as garbage and polluted the environment, is now used in manual work and gains a new life cycle.

As it is a flap, the knitted yarn presents deformities, such as changes in its thickness along the skein, seams, knots. In addition to not having a fixed palette of colors, textures and composition of its fibers compared to yarns that are manufactured. These are details that make it a unique material and that, as I say, collaborate to make us more flexible in the face of life. The apparent defects that it offers to the pieces can be considered effects, an advantage kindly granted by the manual arts, which also have originality as a quality.

See, it's not necessary to incorporate wabi-sabi into your routine, just realize it. A plate with a chipped edge, faded pants, that glass stain on the table, the peeling paint on the wall, the wall covered in slime and vines... The seemingly most insignificant things can be appreciated rather than seen as something old that needs to be replaced or restored. The details tell stories, reveal life that pulses in an organic rhythm.

In wabi-sabi, everything is understood through experience, through the process and from the action of time. Like saudade, wabi-sabi has no translation in any language. It extrapolates the meaning of any word or definition and only requires a state of availability, humility to accept life as it presents itself, raw, with its limitations and frailties, without this being necessarily bad.