SHIBUI - MY WAY OF LIFE

I had fallen in love with Japan and its appreciation of exquisiteness and refinement during my travels and immersion into Buddhism, Shintoism, and Zen meditation. I encountered a way of being that felt like home — spacious, reverent, exquisitely simple.

In 2007, while diving into Japanese architecture and designing my first home, I discovered Shibui — the art of quiet beauty. I didn’t know it then, but it would become the north star in my life.

After a burnout shook the foundation of my life, I longed for a life filled with mindfulness and simplicity, ultimately leading to a richer and more meaningful way of being.

I stripped everything back. Searching. Softening. In that unravelling, a question emerged:

Could Shibui be more than an aesthetic? Could it be a way to live?

The answer was yes.

Simplicity - I began letting go. Of clutter, of noise, of urgency. In its place moved clarity, contentment, and peace.

Naturalness & Modesty - I sought nature, not to escape life, but to return to it. Long walks with my dog, hands in the soil, watching the light shifting through trees, beauty without performance. Immersion into nature is a daily constant in my life.

Implicity & Imperfection - Perfectionism had once driven me. It also nearly broke me. Now, I find grace in the undone, meaning in what’s left unsaid. I still care deeply. But I no longer chase flawlessness — I honour what is real.

Everydayness & Harmony - I live my days with intention: creation and rest, solitude and connection. I seek balance not in perfection but in presence.

Silence - Silence has become sacred. It’s in my work, in my practice, in the space between. Silence awakens stillness - which is the key to everything.

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Living through Shibui gifted me a life I love. It returned me to myself — slowly, gently, thoroughly. And eventually, it empowered me to leave the corporate world and to become a photographer.