In 2020 I worked so hard at giving myself the permission to not know what to do all the time. To try things and mess them up. To forgive myself when I'm tetchy or pissed off.

Then randomly one day having poured my Carrot & Peanut Butter Soup, into my favourite cup, I was reminded of a beautiful concept called Wabi-sabi. I'd come across this last year and forgotten to write about it. Anyways, I made this cup with my own hands at pottery class with Tralee Pottery Club. It's wobbly, uneven, bumpy. Its not perfect. Its a simple design - cup, handle, 5 stars around it. One for Jason, I and our 3 dogs.

I love this cup despite its imperfections, its the perfect embodiment of wabi-sabi. A Japanese concept that sees wisdom in simplicity and beauty in the flawed. It's a view that believes nothing is permanent or finished or perfect.

The concept has its roots in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony and is often used now in interior design and art. A common explanation is the example of a well-loved teacup, made by an artist’s hands, cracked or chipped by constant use. Such traces remind us that nothing is permanent — even fixed objects are subject to change.

And another cool idea is found in the art of kintsugi is where cracked pottery is filled with gold dusted lacquer as a way to showcase the beauty of its age and damage rather than hiding it. The fault is not hidden but highlighted and honoured for what it is. Wabi-sabi draws attention to the cracks in a tea cup as part of the beauty of the object.

How refreshing it would be to live like this right?

To live using this concept of wabi-sabi is as easy (or as difficult) as understanding and accepting yourself — imperfections and all. It’s about being compassionate with yourself as you are, and building on whatever that is — not trying to rebuild yourself in order to pose as something else entirely and perfect.

Put simply, wabi-sabi gives is permission to be ourselves. Embrace the perfection of being imperfectly you. I'm trying to just be me.