Wabi Sabi

Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life

By: Beth Kempton

Narrated by: Beth Kempton

The definitive guide that teaches you how to use the Japanese concept of wabi sabi to reshape every area of your life and find happiness right where you are.

Fed up with the exhausting challenges of our fast-paced, consumption-driven existence, millions of people around the world are turning to timeless cultural traditions to find true meaning. In this transformative handbook, Beth Kempton introduces you to wabi sabi (”wah-bi sah-bi”), a captivating concept from Japanese aesthetics that offers a whole new way of looking at the world.

With roots in Zen and the Way of Tea, wabi sabi teaches you to see beauty in imperfection, appreciate simplicity, and accept the transient nature of all things. It inspires you to simplify everything and concentrate on what truly matters. Filled with simple yet profound wisdom, Wabi Sabi will help you slow down, reconnect with nature, and be gentler on yourself.

From honoring the rhythm of the seasons to creating a welcoming home, from reframing failure to aging with grace, Wabi Sabi teaches you find more joy and inspiration throughout your perfectly imperfect life.

©2019 Beth Kempton (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers

Read it and live it

Simply put, read it and live it. You won’t regret you read it, but you might regret not living it.

Thoughtful and relevant

I appreciate the balanced and thoughtful book. Its pace and flow was enjoyable from start to finish

Lovely!

Beautiful exploration of the little known culture of Wabi Sabi. Gentle reminder of what is really important in life.

A way to find deeper meaning

This book presents a different way to look at life through Japanese tradition that I think was very well narrated by Beth. Her experiences she shares were all relatable, even being on the otherside of the world. I will be recommending this book to others as well!

Amazing and just made me happy!

This book was so wonderful and the narration was fantastic! I studied in Japan during college and since I have formed daily routines around some Japanese cultural habits — my favorite being whisking my matcha every morning. This book was so heartwarming to listen to and I learned a lot! High recommend.

Beautifully narrated

I absolutely LOVE "Wabi Sabi" and listening to the author, Beth Kempton narrate it herself is wonderful. This is informational, self growth and life lessons. I will definitely keep it in my library to re-listen to and enjoy again and again. Thank you.

Exactly what I needed

I have struggled with depression my entire life. This year has been the most difficult for me due to my inability to find a job despite extensive education and skill training. I was lower than I’ve ever been and that’s really saying something…then my mother passed away. I have been so incredibly stuck and not experiencing any joy, not able to move forward, really just going through the motions. This book helped me to remember to find the beauty in now, this season of my life and that despite not having my mom anymore or the thing I have wanted for years, a job.’c I still have so much for which to be thankful and see the beauty. Thank you.

Good Message Presented With Occasionally Pretentious Self Help Attitude

Overall an excellent listen with an important, valuable message. A few passages felt like they were being read by a life coach/self help guru which I personally find to be distasteful, hence the missing star. But I made an effort to forgo judgement and give the concepts due consideration. It was well worth my time.

Appreciate the intricacies of now

This is a Lovely journey into Wabi Sabi and what u understand is it’s true meaning and feelings.

I appreciate the author sharing her insights and experiences which helped bring the concept to life.

It’s helped me slow down in the now to consider a different perspective on the now- I find it resonates and is different to both Ikigai and mindfulness and I appreciate that different perspective as it helps create an even richer mosaic of the beauty of now.

Her discussion of an unfamiliar philosophy

While I had heard some mention of Wabi Sabi as a popular Life Coaching technique, I was afraid that it was one of those one-hit wonder New Age trends that would vanish like a soap bubble in a snowstorm.

Also, I was suspicious of a “philosophy” that was portrayed as a driving root cause of the Japanese Way of Life in the Twentieth Century. Benton’s presentation left me left me with the feeling that I may have been right on both scores.

At the same time I felt that it was a harmless rehash of an essentially healthy antidote to a hard-driving Life that seeks only Wealth, Popularity, and Social Media Fame. I am happy to support any approach that emphasizes the Natural World, Simplicity, and a Desire for the Genuine over the Artificial.

So I’ll give Wabi Sabi Four Stars. ****