Wabi and Sabi

Spent a lot of time yesterday thinking about my next woodworking project for my grandkids:  A bookcase, hutch, bench seat storage . . .   Nothing fancy, basically square boxes.

But, as the great Gordon B. Hinckley (whoever he is) wrote,
“You can't plow a field simply by turning it over in your mind.”

Time to plow the field.

Of course, I would like to know that everything is going to turn out perfectly square; however, one thing is for sure, the woodworker who aims for perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.  

I'm taking a Wabi Sabi approach.  Wabi and Sabi are a pair of Japanese words that have come to define the best aspects of one of the world's most fascinating cultures.  Wabi has been defined as simplicity; austere elegance; imperfect, irregular beauty; rusticity.   Sabi seems to be interpreted as the beauty that treasures the passage of time.  Maybe the word "patina" would work (I hear that word thrown around in antique shops to justify the high price of some well-worn object).  

Or, to put it another way, K.I.S.S.E.D!

I'm sure you've heard of the K.I.S.S. method:  Keep It Simple Stupid!
I grew up with K.I.S.S.E.D.:  Keep It Simple Stupid, Especially David.

"Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without." -- Confucius.

Carpe diem Life,
David Kuhn

P.S. I once saw a sign in a novelty store that had an image of Confucius with a quote, "I really didn't say all that shit!"