Welcome to Insta-tales! A new series where I will use one of my original photographs or digital composites as a starting point to weave together a story, a life lesson, or an anecdote. Hope you enjoy today’s offering – a short story! {It’s my first attempt at fiction, so please be kind!}
I wiped my dusty hands across my brow and took a final look around the attic. Everything had been sorted out – five huge garbage bags of thrash were piled up at the backdoor, two cartons were earmarked for charity, and five shoe boxes of treasured memories lay at the foot of my bed. As I was about to turn off the light, something glinted at the corner of my vision. On closer inspection, I noticed a small, dusty box with gilded edges that I had never seen before. I picked it up and made my way to the bedroom.
– and you’re pretty much on your way.
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese philosophy, like Kintsugi, that embraces imperfection. Wabi-sabi, which is the art of finding beauty in imperfection and revering authenticity above all, emerged as a reaction to the 15th century aesthetic of rich ornamentation and lavish opulence. It is characterized by asymmetry, roughness or irregularity, simplicity, austerity, modesty, and appreciation of the ingenuous integrity of natural objects and processes. The concept is derived from the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence – impermanence, suffering and emptiness.
