Capturing this wabi-sabi detail, I paused on the edge of the elevated wooden veranda and simply looked down. Just beyond the ancient, polished floorboards, the weathered outdoor stone courtyard spread out quietly beneath me. My eyes were naturally drawn to a single imperfection in the orderly path—a severely cracked stone tile where a small plant with delicate leaves had stubbornly pushed its way into the light. This delicate detail, to me, perfectly embodies the profound beauty of transience, decay, the quiet resilience of the natural world and of the perfection of the imperfect.
Ninna-ji Temple, Kyoto, Japan, 2015
