Hello gorgeous people and welcome to my 85 th blog.
If we are to be honest, right now the world could use a little more peace, love and understanding.
At the moment it is not a very pretty place. From personal losses to natural tragedies, global disasters, and everything in between, it is no wonder that at times we feel down and depressed.
We are experiencing grief about what has been lost, anxiety about what is going to happen next, overwhelm by how big the problems are, disillusionment by the people in positions of power and guilt for not doing more. Sadly, theses feelings are considered normal.
Boy, oy boy, does this not paint an awfully bleak picture?
However, I have decided that it is beyond important for us all to try to not buy into this.
My thoughts are that in order for us to thrive, and not just survive, we need to make the best of all that we have, and all that is still beautiful in the world.
Hang on a sec, Hayles, that sounds bloody marvellous and incredibly ideal, but in the real world how on earth is this possible?
As is my wont and as you are accustomed to hearing, oft and consistently, I needed to explore this further in order to find a workable solution.
Some delving and research done, and I am pretty certain that I now have some great ideas.
Well, here we go.
There is an Ancient Japanese way of life that may be what we need right now. It is called Wabi-Sabi.
Let me explain.
Wabi-Sabi is an ancient aesthetic philosophy rooted in Zen Buddhism and is a concept that motions us to constantly search for the beauty in imperfection and to accept the more natural cycles of life.
It serves to remind us that all things including us and life itself, are impermanent, incomplete, and imperfect. Therefore, perfection is impossible, and imperfection is the only way.
Taken individually, wabi and sabi are 2 different concepts.
Wabi is about recognising beauty in humble simplicity. We open ourselves to spirituality and detach ourselves from materialism.
Sabi is about the passage of time, the way all things grow, age and decay and how this manifests beautifully in objects. This suggests that beauty is hidden beneath the surface of what we actually see, even if what we actually initially see is broken.
Together the two words Wabi-Sabi create an awesome credo for our approach to life.
Accept what is, stay in the present moment, and appreciate the simple, transient stages of life.
Wow!
This resonated hugely with me so I decided that I should touch on a few aspects of it as Wabi-Sabi is a deep, much researched and written about topic.
Let us take a look at how some of these principles might help us in our everyday life.
- We can stop pursuing ultimate happiness.
Happiness does not when happen when everything around us is perfect, this can’t be.
Once we properly understand this, we can very easily find contentment in the middle of imperfection. Happiness is fully available to us regardless of our circumstances. This is so refreshingly simple and true. Now to put it into action.
- We can learn to accept all.
There are some monks, the Yamabushi monks who have a core philosophy that the sooner we accept the good with the bad, the lighter we will feel. This will give us the freedom to find our own path. Its not about giving up, its about accepting our situation and practising gratitude. Baby steps for me with this one.
- We can strive to be our best.
All things in life are in an imperfect state of flux and therefore change is the only constant. Everything is transient and nothing is ever complete. That is why perfection does not exist. We actually need to write a new narrative that reads, “Imperfection is the only way”. So, lets aim to do our best to be the best that we can be. How brilliant is this!
- We can relate to one another better.
Once we realize that we are all imperfect by nature, we can stop trying to be perfect, and stop pretending that we have our s… together all the time. We all experience a kaleidoscope of days and times, happy mixed with sad and good mixed with bad. We can be authentic and true and vulnerable and real together. We can seek solace with our tribe sharing our imperfections and “defects.” I really, really like this concept.
- We can embrace our own imperfections.
We can strive towards being our best self, without expecting ourselves to be perfect in all aspects of our lives. We are enough and we are all worthy of love. I love Brene Brown’s thoughts on this. She maintains that if we strive towards improving ourselves from an authentic place of self-compassion, gratitude, and intuition we will experience more freedom, love, and joy. A good one, but I do find this quite tough.
- We can simplify our life
Decluttering is an integral part of the journey to growth and change. Slow down, simplify your life and concentrate on what really matters to you. Become more intentional. I have published two blogs on this and yet I still struggle to organize and tidy my life. I guess this is something I can keep striving for.
- We can be content whilst reaching for the stars.
To be content with what we have and where we are is to be grateful. We can be intentional and work toward what we want, trusting that we can achieve it, whilst being cool with what we have and where we are. It relates to the acceptance chatted about above. They say that acceptance is contentment and contentment is acceptance. Shoo, this one really resonates with me.
- We can appreciate the beauty in all things.
There is an ancient art form called Kintsugi, where broken objects are mended with gold fillings. This reminds us that there is great beauty in broken things because scars tell a story. In our lives, our physical and emotional scars show strength, courage and wisdom earned on our journey. Our failures are there to teach us how not to do things and our mistakes are there to teach us the importance of forgiveness. Our wrinkles are there to remind us of how much we have laughed. We can revel in imperfection and see its innate beauty, be it an object, nature, or a person. I feel that I am slowly putting this into practice.
- We can enjoy the process.
Perfection is not the end game in our lives. Let us enjoy the roller coaster of highs and lows in out imperfect existence. Without sadness we can’t experience joy. Imperfection brings beauty to our highs. Challenges and obstacles are all a part and parcel of this crazy little thing called life. I must say that I am blessed to really enjoy the journey, mostly and am realizing how importance this it, given the fragility of life.
- We can strive to make things better.
We can aim to help make our world a better place. There are millions of ways in which we can do this. Acts of kindness come to mind. Not only will we benefit others, but we will benefit in countless ways too. Well worth the repetition, in my opinion.
It seems that we were never meant to be perfect, we are only meant to be perfectly us. Let us breathe more freely, let us look around us, and let us celebrate all the cracks, flaws, defects, and imperfections and learn to love our imperfect lives and imperfect world and imperfect selves. I love this and can relate to it so well. I really hope you can too.
With thanks to Omar Itani, Joshua Becker, Brene Brown and Carson McGinley.