“Beauty can be coaxed out of ugliness. Wabi-sabi is ambivalent about separating beauty from non-beauty or ugliness. The beauty of wabi-sabi is, in one respect, the condition of coming to terms with what you consider ugly.” Aging is often if not mostly considered ugly in society. The fear of change, the fear of death, trying to erase the signs of time through botox and all sorts of techniques, any fix to adhere to the purity of youth. Our society doesn’t want to give us the opportunity to shift our lens from aging into growing. Fear is profitable, the panic state makes us move quickly, so we choose the less sustainable option that isn’t in harmony and “appreciation of the evanescence of life and its cosmic order.” When I first took this image almost two years ago I wasn’t ready to share it. I myself felt it’s Impact and intriguing power yet the “ugliness” of it had me uncomfortable and confused so I was hesitant. It feels easier to speak about accepting change, aging and time at my age of 29, when the strong visual impact hasn’t quite hit yet, but probably a very different experience to speak with such ease at 40, 50, 60 and own that beauty and wisdom. I make this point and open the dialogue to honor the stages of life and our elders as we once did. One more in line with wabi-sabi’s belief, that “The closer things get to nonexistence the more exquisite and evocative they become.” #claybodies #earthbodies #tylergoldflower