I recently went on my somewhat annual yoga retreat at Mii Amo Spa in Sedona, AZ. While I was there, I had a big revelation (that’s what you tend to do at yoga retreats 🙂 I realized that in my personal life, I always strive make things cleaner, tidier, more efficient, shinier and the list goes on. While in my professional life as a stylist, when I location scout or search for props, I am always seeking out the barn with the chipping faded paint, the metal doors with the most patina or the most gnarled tree trunk. So I decided to make a conscious effort to see the beauty in the imperfect of my personal life, too.
When my house looks like a crazy mess (which is most of the time), I now remind myself that it is b/c it was filled with the creative energy of kids or a recent party-both of which I love! When my jeans are tight, I try to remember that its b/c I had lots of great food & wine with my husband and our friends. Or when I obsess about the deep line between my eye brows, I recall that it was created from years of squinting in bright sun at the pool which I wouldn’t trade for 10 lines!
The photo below done by Teri Campbell of Teri Studios is my visual mantra of seeing beauty in the imperfect. I love everything about this image especially since I know the enamel bucket was chipped, sandy, and came from the sand box at the Waldorf School, the wire basket is my friend’s rusty kindling basket and the box holding the drinks is the tool box of our carpenter’s elderly neighbor’s father. All of them were loving worn and came together to make a beautiful shot.
