‘Wabi-sabi’ is a Japanese philosophy that encourages the Japanese to let go of unrealistic standards and to embrace the beauty found in imperfections. Fining joy in life’s simple moments may seem like an unbelievable notion and doing so in an imperfect moment may seem even crazier - as if it was meant for the crazy optimists only. But here’s the thing - we live in a time where we are encouraged to do and enjoy everything that isn’t imperfect or simple, despite them both making up a great part of our lives.
I don’t speak Japanese, so what does it mean?
‘Wabi’ means simplicity and ‘sabi’ indicates beauty that is acquired with age and accepting the fact that things don’t last forever. It is something that is deeply rooted in the Japanese culture, but can be applied to anyone’s life.
An example of this is cracking a ceramic bowl. We all accidentally cracked (or broke) one at one point in our lives. To deal with the crack, instead of throwing away the bowl, the Japanese would repair it with with a special sort of glue that looks pretty and would further decorate it so the imperfection would become something that you’d want to show off and appreciate. (Photo by Ruthann Hurwitz ).
I don’t want to be breaking stuff nor do I have shiny glue, so I’ll keep it in mind for next time.
That’s not how it works. ‘Wabi-sabi’ can be applied to everything, the tangible and the intangible:
It’s a reminder to continuously improve and to accept your mistakes rather than striving for perfection because being perfect is not fully possible.
It’s a reminder to appreciate the simple things instead of overlooking them because they bring us joy, whether we know it or not.
It’s a reminder to make sure you get to know yourself because your flaws are what shape you, giving you the ability to learn and grow and discover how valuable you really are.
It’s a reminder to be present and to enjoy the moment. Remember that nothing stays the same forever. Things are always changing, so it’s highly unlikely that this moment will be back.
Once you get a grip of this philosophy, you’ll be able to apply it to everything, everywhere, at anytime. You’ll feel lighter, better, happier because you will now be able to accept imperfection and embrace it rather than trying to achieve perfection.
For those of you who are interested in learning more about this, then you might want to check out Beth Kempton’s book ‘Wabi Sabi, a Japanese Wisdom for a Perfect Imperfect Life’. In all honestly, I haven’t read it, so if you do, please share what you think of it in the comments!
That’s all from me today. I’ll see you in my next post! And remember to take in the moment! ;)
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