Mindfulness and Wabi Sabi
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I’ve recently been reading the book Wabi Sabi. It’s been fascinating.
Wabi Sabi is a Japanese worldview based on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.
For me, Wabi Sabi is about realising that everything in nature is imperfect and its beauty lies in its imperfection. And we are part of nature too.
For example, look at the image of the tree above. No straight lines. No perfect symmetry. No permanence. And yet it has great beauty.
Our task is to realise the same about ourselves. Our bodies are imperfect and impermanent. And so are our minds. But not only that. Our beauty lies in our imperfection.
When we make mistakes. When we screw up. When we say the wrong thing or say it in the wrong way, we are like that tree. Being imperfect is part of our nature, just as being crooked is part of that tree’s nature.
So let’s be inspired by nature and be even more ourselves.
Let’s take on a few more risks and make a few more mistakes.
Let’s give that talk or publish that book.
Cook that new dish or visit that new place.
Speak to that stranger or try that new course, activity or sport.
In these new tasks, we will fumble, make mistakes and fall over.
And not only is that okay. That’s part of being human. That being more you.
That’s being that beautiful, crooked tree.
To go deeper into this idea, you may enjoy this guided Wabi Sabi Meditation that I shared in our Daily Mindfulness Club recently.
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