Wabi-sabi (侘寂) in Japanese, is the view of the world centered on the acceptance that everything is fleeting and imperfect. “Wabi-sabi nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.” adds Richard Powell. Art books define it as “flawed beauty.”

I came upon this word recently and since then I’ve learned to see people’s flaws and “brokeness,” as well as my own, as beautifully unique. Some of us are patched up broken vases that have managed to keep going with all our flaws, which, while they may make us unlovable to some, to others we are beautifully flawed and broken.

I’m grateful to have been broken and somewhat restored. The cracks are still there. I don’t intend to hide them. Broken people see through the cracks of others and appreciate their flawed beauty. There’s certainly more depth in a cracked soul, more empathy and  resilience to weather storms even if they have to go them alone.