Ever since I started the conversion, I’ve been asking myself: how perfect does it need to be, and can I actually manage it? As I don’t have the experience of a craftsman and I’m not exactly a gifted tinker either, it’s probably rather unlikely that it’ll turn out flawless.
But do I even want that, or do I have the time, or can I afford it? My answer is NO. I also lack the ambition to be perfect.
Actually, the Atego was supposed to be called ‘SÄK.LE’, but once I realised that, I looked for words that describe ‘not perfect’. My friends gave me feedback, and that’s what came back – or rather, that’s what I found.
- Imperfect Benz: Lacks perfection or has minor faults.
- Crude Benz : Built in a simple, rough, or unpolished way.
- Nearly Benz, The Almost Benz, The Nearly there Benz, The Virtually there Benz, The Quirky Benz
- Frankenstein
- SeLECT (an insider joke)
- SubPar Benz... Not measuring up to traditional standards of performance value or production…
- The Base Benz
- Iffy or Patchy Beast
- ....
And Wabi Sabi Benz (WSB)
Wabi-Sabi is a traditional Japanese aesthetics concept that finds profound beauty and harmony in what is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.
Rooted deeply in Zen Buddhism, this philosophy serves as a quiet counter-weight to modern pressures of efficiency and absolute perfection.
Core Meaning
- Wabi: Refers to simplicity, humility, rustic quietness, and a voluntary withdrawal from material excess or artificial gloss.
- Sabi: Refers to the beauty and elegance that comes with age, wear, and the natural passage of time, such as a weathered patina or a fine crack.
Key Aesthetic Principles
- Impermanence: Accepting that all things grow, decay, and eventually pass away.
- Asymmetry: Valuing irregular and organic shapes over rigid symmetry.
- Naturalness: Embracing materials and forms without pretense or excessive decoration.
And this really describes it and me best!
So the SÄK.LE will become the
Wabi-Sabi Benz (WSB)