Wabi-sabi and dotfiles
One of the things I love about computers and open-source software is that you can customize everything. If you don’t like how something looks or functions, you can just tweak it to your hearts content. If the software doesn’t offer a config option for it (which is rare, as a lot of open-source software is extremely flexible), you can always modify the source code yourself. There is no end. In a world where I constantly feel overwhelmed by how complex things are, and how little control I have of the world around me, this is a very appealing respite.
I’ve recently found myself with a lot more free time than usual, and I’ve been spending a lot of time customising my dotfiles. I’ve also been thinking a lot about the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-sabi. By the work of the higher powers that be, this article came into my RSS feed the other day. It was a bit of a much needed slap in the face. It talks about why we should stop spending so much time configuring everything, and even delves into the deeper, more philosophical reasons for doing this.
There is a counter argument to this. Which is only sort of a counter argument, in that it argues that it’s okay to spend time making tweaks which make you more productive, but not to spend time making superficial tweaks such as colours and aesthetics.
I’m also a creative, and aesthetics are important to me, which makes this a hard pill to swallow. Having an environment that appeals to me aesthetically makes me happier, so surely more productive? But alas, the Wabi-sabi principle applies specifically to aesthetics. There is beauty in inconsistency, in imperfection. Some of my best art comes from the tightest of constraints. So maybe I should embrace this?
I took a little advice from both articles - I stripped a bunch of stuff out of my dotfiles which I don’t need. I’m rolling with the imperfect defaults. I made one final commit - Wabi sabi (7d5573d). My goal is to not make another commit for at least a month. Hopefully putting this short story out into the world will hold me accountable to that goal.