I love this essay. It is full of wisdom and longing, two traits that spark my brain and bring back memories and thoughts long buried by time. The first thing that came to mind as I read your piece was “wabi-sabi,” the Japanese aesthetics that tells us that “nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.” Including us. Embracing wabi-sabi is not easy for some of us who sometimes strive for perfection in what we do (but seldom accomplish it). And, as you mention, it doesn’t diminish the beauty or the value of what we make, and it even enhances it. I wrote an essay years ago about my scars and what they meant to me. Some are visible and in the open; others hide under clothes most of the time; and others are invisible to the eye, emerging only in deep conversations that don’t happen often. And, as we get older and our faces and bodies become physical expressions of a rugged landscape’s topographic map, our scars mingle with these age marks. Like the song from Brandi Carlile says, “All of these lines across my face, tell you the story of who I am.” Yeah, I know I’m a bit corny, but I like songs like that one.
Thank you for sharing these little insights into your life and your work.
I love this essay. It is full of wisdom and longing, two traits that spark my brain and bring back memories and thoughts long buried by time. The first thing that came to mind as I read your piece was “wabi-sabi,” the Japanese aesthetics that tells us that “nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.” Including us. Embracing wabi-sabi is not easy for some of us who sometimes strive for perfection in what we do (but seldom accomplish it). And, as you mention, it doesn’t diminish the beauty or the value of what we make, and it even enhances it. I wrote an essay years ago about my scars and what they meant to me. Some are visible and in the open; others hide under clothes most of the time; and others are invisible to the eye, emerging only in deep conversations that don’t happen often. And, as we get older and our faces and bodies become physical expressions of a rugged landscape’s topographic map, our scars mingle with these age marks. Like the song from Brandi Carlile says, “All of these lines across my face, tell you the story of who I am.” Yeah, I know I’m a bit corny, but I like songs like that one.
Thank you for sharing these little insights into your life and your work.
Thank you, Carlos. Your comments are mini-essays worth reading. Always insightful.