{I realize we’ve entered November but I couldn’t let this go by.}
From page 48, Everyday Sacred: A Woman’s Journey Home
by Sue Bender:
“October Tea
One day, in search of something else, I found a book called Wabi Sabi. Wabi sabi are the Japanese words for a feeling, an aesthetic that is hard to describe. I read:
“Wabi sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.
It is a beauty of things modest and humble.
It is a beauty of things unconventional.”
A friend, a student of the Japanese tea ceremony, mentioned “October tea.” She said it’s one of the most important times of the year for tea, the most wabi. November celebrates the new tea, but October is the time to use up the last of the old. Instead of letting it dribble out, or be thought of as the dregs — “We cherish what remains of that which is in the process of passing.”
This month only, mismatched dishes are used. The utensils are ones that have been broken and repaired. “Not just repaired, but carefully and beautifully mended,” she added.”
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