I've recently discovered the Japanese concept of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi">Wabi-sabi</a>; to simplify it to the extreme (which, frankly, is the only way I know it) it means to find beauty in imperfection and to accept life's impermanence.
<blockquote><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi">"[Wabi-sabi] nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.</a></blockquote>
I feel like I can exhale.

Even before discovering this concept, I've been embracing wabi-sabi. Maybe it's a reaction to mass-produced goods, maybe it's searching for authenticity. It quite possibly is a reaction to the relentless pursuit of perfection we have drilled into our brains, but I've become increasingly disenchanted by perfection. I don't trust it anymore.

I refuse to drive my husband's new car until he gets a little scratch on it. I didn't feel like my own car was mine until the rugs got a little mud on them. It's just too stressful, dr

Mind you, I love beautiful things. I seek order and like to keep a clean house. But I think that the scratches on the floor and the little smudges on the baseboards are what truly make it a home.