Wabi Sabi handmade vases - A Christmas gift I just adore!
I can go deep sometimes in pondering our shared human experience. As I get older, I am increasingly conscientious and aware of the errors and flaws of humanity. Gratitude grows deep as I celebrate the small moments of life where I enjoy the freedoms of a healthy human existence. In this cozy space I marvel and hold a deep sense of satisfaction in what feels like the afterspace of a lifelong battle against the social pressures of perfectionism and upward mobility. I know I am still judged, but I can more easily turn away from that reflection and sit comfortably in the simplicity and efficiency of the perfectly imperfect direction I travel.
Let me explain, it's in this wabi sabi take on life, I find comfort in finding that place between ironing a shirt and getting it out of the dryer at just the right time to avoid a pressing, or to sit without stress in that space where I stop and rest knowing that I have done enough even through there is more to do. In these spaces, I reject perfectionism, reject societal pressure to do more, to make more money or to make it flawless. In those spaces, I feel more human, more at ease, and definitely more free.
Societal pressures are enormous. People push others (sometimes unknowingly) to do more or be different than they are, want or can. We read self-help books to change our behaviors, we go on diets to change our bodies, we shop for certain brands to create an image. When that happens, I think many of us feel anguish, misery, or hopeless. When we feel the pressure and can't keep up, it is in that reflection we criticize ourselves, we feel less than, and we don't have access to a healthy and natural human experience.
I think this is why I admire that which is made by hand and without machine. Machines can be wonderful tools for efficiency, but can also lead to the erroneous idea that perfect is better. That which is done by hand - organic and natural - I believe, supports healthy humans. I think there is something about a wavy wobble spotted in the artists painting, irregular chunks in a bowl of soup or the indentation of the finger in a ceramic pot that brings us all to our roots of human existence. We need these little imperfections to be part of our daily lives because they remind us of the absolute magnitude of what it means to survive - to take stock, if you will, of the human experience in its entirety. I think, humans are losing that rooting in the quest for upward mobility and perfection.
When the world at large feels disjointed, discordant or out of sync, I suspect it's because we've created something that is too complex and complicated for our brains to handle, we've allowed ourselves to believe that perfection is the goal, and we've lost, through the trappings of our modern world, that important connection to our basic human needs. We failed to stop in that middle space where the perfectly imperfect allows us access to a full and healthy human experience. This complexity, this space lorded by perfectionism, has both ameliorated and confounded access to the full extent of human freedoms.
Yadda yadda...and, so I ponder and I ponder so!
The shelves at Lake View Organic Farm @ The Farmhouse World Kitchen are hand sawn, not sanded and also not vacuumed clean of the sawdust left behind in the process. On those shelves sit bottles and packages of all sorts of wonderful handmade goodies just for you. The labels are written by hand - a thing I've had to push into the perfectly imperfect acceptance zone because I prefer labels that look "professional," (Oh, the pressure of perfection!) and there I stand, ready to visit with you and probably stick my foot in my mouth!
Thank you all for appreciating my imperfections as I appreciate yours:)
See you on Saturday, February 4th! So far I have a chocolate vendor and a yogurt vendor coming with treats - still have space for one more! Do you sell something that I don't and feel the desire to test the waters? Drop me a line.
Self-serve or grab-n-go-lunch on Saturday - Buddha Bowls! Quinoa, wild rice, roasted veggies, sesame ginger chicken in a glorious peanut sauce. Join us!
Sending love from Farmlandia,
Sarah
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