Hi all, how’s your month going? I hope everything works well for you, it’s been a while since my last article was up, and finally, I got the time to finish this one.
In this episode of the 1Minute section, we will cover and explain a bit about the Japanese philosophy called wabi-sabi, I know you might take more than a minute to finish the whole passage, so, I hope you do not get bored in the middle of it.
Let’s start!
In the heart of Japanese culture lies a profound philosophy known as wabi-sabi, celebrating the beauty within imperfection. Imagine a world where nothing lasts forever, things are always evolving, and perfection is an illusion. This philosophy teaches us to appreciate life’s fleeting moments and embrace its inherent flaws.
Wabi reflects the beauty in simplicity and solitude, while Sabi embodies the elegance of natural ageing and growth. Together, they remind us that imperfection is not something to be feared, but rather cherished as a testament to life’s authenticity.
Wabi is correlated with loneliness, while Sabi is a natural growth that aligns with biological enhancement.
This imperfection that followed after the biological enhancement reminds us there is nothing lasts forever, as we stated in the first item about this philosophy which is “nothing that can last forever” teaches us that we need to appreciate little things.
A fast-paced lifestyle sometimes forces us to pursue and set unrealistic high standards whether for ourselves or even for the others around us. Setting the bar high which leads us to pursue materialistic goals will somehow damage the balance of our lives. We are trying to approach life most adequately by learning and understanding this concept.
Here are 4 things to balance your life and live your life better even when you are forced to stay in this ‘fast-paced’ society.
ACCEPTANCE = UKETAMO
There are a lot of examples to define this. When we accept everything that has been thrown at us, we can find the right way to grow. And after that, we need to be grateful for it, as every blow that we get will give us something in return. Either it’s a lesson or an experience.
DO EVERYTHING PERFECTLY, DO YOUR BEST
There’s no way that we can be someone absolute or perfect. There’s a line from Omaritani that mentions “Perfection is a state of completeness, and no one, nothing can ever be perfect. Perfection doesn’t exist because the imperfection is the natural state of life.”
Sometimes we have blurry vision about how we understand the concept of being perfect. If we ask ourselves, the real definition of perfection, what would it be?
Is it truly your will and belief or is it shaped by our society or even the standards that the closest people doctrine in us? And this is what we call the illusion of perfect thinking.
How often do we think and say that “we’re not good enough?” in a brighter light we can see it as room for improvement, but if we are a negative pursuer, we might think the opposite. There’s always beauty and things to learn. When we appreciate the process, we will see the beauty. Even though, I believe it’s not easy to spot it.
And it’s quite related to Kintsugi, which I’ll explain in another section. In short, Kintsugi means giving people golden scars, filling the broken objects with goodness, because scars tell a story.
SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY EVERY MOMENT
It’s different from being YOLO, don’t wait until you achieve everything and then realize the message behind.
Slowing down will help us to be more self-aware and more observant. Because when we are slowing down, we can realize many things. This section is associated with the law of reflection à pause and reflect, when you start following this rule, you know what to skip, what to prioritize, and what you need to improve.
Another sentence that I like from the same site is…
“Decluttering is an integral part of the journey to growth and change. Letting of what no longer serves you is how you allow room for what will.”
FINDING HAPPINESS IN SMALL THINGS
Wasting our lives by pursuing things that we don’t enjoy, sometimes makes us frustrated. If we ask ourselves, what will make us happy? Can you answer it? Does your answer lead to materialistic goals?
If you sacrifice anything to obtain that goal, then, do you really believe that when you achieve everything will make you happy? Will it be your utmost happiness, not just a temporary sense of relief?
That’s all for today, thank you for reading till the end and, see you soon!
Resources
Itani, O. (2023, March 17). 5 Teachings From The Japanese Wabi-Sabi Philosophy That Can Drastically Improve Your Life — OMAR ITANI. OMAR ITANI. https://www.omaritani.com/blog/wabi-sabi-philosophy-teachings
Leave a comment