The sentimentalist's perfection

beauty and perfection when there's nothing left to take away

Hello intersectional thinkers 👋

Greetings from Tokyo where cherry blossoms are just past full bloom 🌸

Just past full bloom is important.

Because the beauty is not when the blossoms are flourishing. But rather when the petals fall with the spring breeze.

Beauty is captured in that fleeting moment where you watch in awe as the sakura petals delicately snow down onto the concrete. You reach out, trying to catch a petal in your hand because you don't want the flower to wither, the season to end.

That's beauty for the sentimentalists.

(And yes there is a poetic Japanese word that describes this precious moment: sakura fubuki - a cherry blossom blizzard)

Beauty when there’s nothing left to take away

There is a renowned Japanese architect Baba Masataka, known for revitalizing existing structures into community spaces that people gather.

What most people don't know about him is he is losing his eyesight.

But the less he can see, surprisingly, the better his projects became.

In his words: "When I could see everything, I would do everything. But when I couldn't see everything, I had to give up. And that sharpened my mind."

We spend too much time building up. Learning how to add new things, fancy things. We like to assume providing value means doing more.

But in this additive process, we lose sight of the form that is already there.

The underrated skill is in the editing.

Like the sculptor, who needs to chip away at the marble to reveal the statue.

Or the knife, that needs to be ground down in order to be sharp again.

"Perfection is not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Have a wonderful week :)

Vicky