According to Beth Kempton, author of Wabi Sabi, “Wabi Sabi is an acceptance and appreciation of the impermanent, imperfection, and incomplete nature of everything.”
In so many ways this goes against everything my culture has taught me. Striving for excellence, avoiding mistakes, hitting the mark have all been voices in the back of my head.
It’s one thing to accept the imperfections as part of life, but to actually appreciate them. How is this even possible? I’ve always strived and prefer order in my life.
Interestingly Wabi Sabi does not just address the “things” in our lives, but includes ourself in its philosophy. It teaches us to let go of that elusive and impossible goal of perfection. It leads us toward accepting who we are just as we are.
Considering the number of self-help books that line my shelves this seems quite foreign to my western ears.
The simplicity of Wabi Sabi is to look for the beauty in the ordinary-the every day. It’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness of our days that we forget to look, and miss out on what’s right before our eyes.
In other words as Kempton reminds us, “Less head, more heart.”
No comments:
Post a Comment