Three Lenses for Living: from Taoism and Wabi-Sabi to Ikigai

A quiet macro photograph of a pale green succulent, featured on the Tao Style blog homepage.

People often ask me what Tao Style is really about.

The short answer: Rooted in Eastern philosophy and aesthetics—from Taoism and Wabi-Sabi to Ikigai—Tao Style publishes personal essays on life, art, and daily presence. It’s a space to release what you can’t force, accept what isn’t perfect, and stay present in the life right in front of you.

We live in a culture obsessed with control, constant self-optimization, and the performance of having it all together. To find our footing in all this noise, we don’t look for new rules or complex theories. Instead, we use three practical lenses to help us drop the fight with daily life:

  • Taoism (The World Out There): This shapes our relationship with the external world. Most of us spend immense energy trying to control every outcome, plan for every risk, and force life to obey our timing. Taoism is the art of releasing that tight grip. It asks us to stop treating ourselves and our days like machines to be optimized, and to learn the quiet power of moving with life’s natural rhythm instead of fighting it.

  • Wabi-Sabi (The Self Within): This shapes our relationship with ourselves. We are constantly sold the illusion of flawless success and endless progress. Wabi-Sabi turns that upside down by accepting that impermanence, past mistakes, and worn edges are part of being human. It gives us permission to stop repairing ourselves for a moment and simply embrace an imperfect, genuine existence.

  • Ikigai (How We Live Each Day): Once we stop forcing outcomes and stop beating ourselves up over imperfection, how do we actually live? Ikigai anchors us in the physical reality of today. It isn’t about chasing a grand, heroic life purpose. It’s about finding simple, solid reasons to wake up each morning—whether that’s making a quiet cup of coffee, watching light move across a wall, or photographing a flower in the rain.

Together, these three perspective shifts form a simple loop: Release control of what you can’t force, accept your broken edges, and stay present in the physical world right in front of you.

That is the space we write from. Nothing more, nothing less.