The beauty of what remains
Reclaiming value in a discarding world
“Where are we going to put that?!”
“I don’t know, but there’s something about it… it has life in it… somewhere.”
The remains of an oaken dresser, once destined for the tip
Even beneath the grime and broken drawers, there was something solid in it. I just knew. Something worth saving.
We didn’t need more furniture. But… I took it home anyway.
As an untrained artist and woodworker, I’m always collecting beautiful pieces of wood—ones that hold something I can see, and want others to see too. This post is about one such creation, found within the oaken boards of an old dresser, destined for the tip.
‘Seeing the potential within’
There’s a term in Japanese aesthetics: wabi-sabi—the beauty of imperfection, of things weathered by time.
I’m thankful that, for whatever reason, I have been able to see the beautiful within the old, within the discarded, and within those things that are often passed by.
This may have come from a children’s book I read, when young, and the idea that those who are lucky have done their part to see when luck comes calling.
“My luck’s no greater than yours or any man’s. You need only sharpen your eyes to see your luck when it comes, and sharpen your wits to use what falls into your hands.”
‘Finding the branches within the handle’
Luck, I believe, does not come like ‘Grace’ - unbidden and without effort on your part, it comes through your ability to get out of your own way. It requires patience and it requires some willingness to accept, even those difficulties that arise in your path.
‘All but the rough edges remain’
Psychologist Adam Grant says creative breakthroughs often come not from blank slates, but from constraint—working with what’s already there, even if it's flawed.
When we engage with difficulty, we also engage more deeply with our own resourcefulness. We start to see potential where others see waste.
‘Seeing the magic arise’
Working in the wood studio is always teaching me—if I’m ready to listen.
This project reminded me: creating change doesn’t have to come from sweeping gestures. More often, it’s the cumulative effect of small acts of transformation—seeing differently, working patiently, honoring what already is.
From that discarded dresser, I carved a set of salad spoons: oak leaves cupped into bowls, acorns resting as pommels on their handles.
‘The beauty within accepting what is found’
From waste came nourishment. From neglect, something sacred.
Our ability to find the good in life—in our work, our relationships, our circumstances—grows when we can calmly appreciate the imperfection of the moment… and listen for what it’s quietly asking us to become.
‘The beauty of usefulness'
We live in a world that moves fast and discards faster—people, ideas, even the parts of ourselves that make us uncomfortable.
But what if change starts by seeing worth where others don’t?
Possibly even within those we disagree with?
Try this:
Find one thing this week you’d usually throw away, overlook, or walk past—a conversation, a habit, a scrap piece of your own story.
Sit with it. Ask: What’s still good here? What could this become?
The world doesn’t need more perfection.
It needs more people willing to see things as they are—
and reimagine the insightful path toward what they could be.
If you want to grow your ability to make beautiful change in your world, why not reach out today? An Insightful Coaching session awaits you.
