Wabi-Sabi could be one of the key concepts for our healing…
See the beauty in simplicity and imperfection.
Allow ourselves not to be perfect.
Have you ever heard of the word, “Wabi-Sabi?” You might think of condiments that come with raw fish that many Japanese people and many other different nationalities enjoy nowadays. That is wasabi, not Wabi-Sabi!
The "Wabi-Sabi" concept started from Taoism during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and later influenced Zen Buddhist teaching around the mid-16th century. It came around the same time as the tea ceremony became popular in Japan. Particularly amongst powerful influencers at the time such as Sen No Rikyu, tea masters and feudal lords such as Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Wabi-Sabi was originally seen as an ascetic and modest way of appreciating and admiring beauty.
You might have seen or heard about Japanese culture, for example the tea ceremony. As a tea ceremony practitioner, I can appreciate the Wabi-Sabi concept to enhance the joy of practising and learning about life through tea ceremonies.
So what’s so special about it? Let’s dive in a bit deeper.
My interpretation of Wabi-Sabi is to appreciate life no matter what. When we understand the life cycle, birth and death for example. These are inevitable for any living species, human beings, animals and even plants are born and die. Each element can bring certain emotions such as joy, happiness, anger, sadness and so on. We all know that those emotions are sometimes needed to process life.
Wabi-Sabi is the way of using our senses to appreciate all elements with beauty. For example, you observe trees throughout the seasons.
Each season can offer its own beauty and sometimes we might feel a little bit melancholic or sentimental. Observing seedlings of young plants becoming mature, and then flowering petals falling like cherry blossoms. We harvest fruits and observe their decay such as leaves falling to the ground. When you think about each component, it has its magnificence if we really look at it. I think that is a part of Wabi-Sabi too.
I love the quote from the author of ‘Wabi-Sabi Simple’, Richard Powell acknowledges that "Wabi-Sabi has three simple realities; nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.”
Now you might have a good question "What does Wabi-Sabi have to do with my health?"
I think that is a very relevant question! I love it.
Well, as a naturopath I see health holistically to restore balance physically, mentally and emotionally.
Have you experienced yourself that you were doing really well with healthy nutrition, but not quite feeling optimal?
Or perhaps you were managing many tasks and tackling everything and feeling at the peak of your game but you started having rashes on your skin and people commented that you were stressed and you did not feel that way?
I have seen people like this all the time and honestly, I have gone down this pathway myself many times in the past!
So, you are not alone.
The reason for introducing the Wabi-Sabi concept here is that we take the moment and allow ourselves to "just be" when we can.
Introducing this concept here allows us to take a moment and be present. For instance, if you have a few tasks left to do with the day already coming to an end and you also need to pick up your kids from school, you might not have time to finish everything at night. There are two possible scenarios:
Blame yourself for not being efficient enough to complete all tasks during the day
Acknowledge that you did your best for the day, and if you couldn't finish everything, it's okay to stop and spend quality time with your family. Instead of worrying about what you didn't accomplish, focus on the moment that you are in.
Option one leads to self-blame and inefficiency, while option two prioritizes tasks and allows you to enjoy quality time with loved ones. It's a huge difference, and by choosing option two, you can plan better for the next day and still be productive.
Wabi-Sabi can be an acceptance of self-doubt and self-blame. For example, I am not good enough or I don't think I can do this. The best thing you can do is to acknowledge negative emotions. "Thank you for letting me acknowledge them"
Don't dwell on negative emotions. You can appreciate that the feeling comes in and lets go. The best practice we can start is to initiate a state of self-care, be kind to yourself and focus on being present in the moment.
Establishing good self-care allows different parts of our health to enter a state of homeostasis. We become united as one physically, mentally and emotionally.
The concept of Wabi-Sabi can help us become more resilient by allowing us to move past negative emotions. We understand that self-blame and self-doubt are not productive emotions, and so we learn to accept them without denying their existence. Life is beautiful and it can be fragile, and dwelling on negative emotions only takes away from its fleeting nature.
By understanding the truth, we can optimize our health and well-being. I am grateful for the opportunity to explore this concept as part of my culture and for my personal development, and most importantly I can get to share with people.
Creating positive ripple effects with people in the community is part of my strong passion and I look forward to evolving in the future.
I strongly encourage you to explore your imperfections and observe yourself when you notice your undesirable state and let them go by thanking them for raising your attention.
Please give it a go a few times and notice what changes in you.
Remember, practice always makes us better, so go ahead and see what it brings to you, okay?
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