Wabi Sabi
“Wabi-sabi” is a Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life. It is a worldview that can be described as the most conspicuous and characteristic feature of what we consider to be traditional Japanese beauty. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the nature of “wabi” may be translated as "subdued, austere beauty.” The word “sabi” means "rustic patina."
A culture evolves over time from the way we live our lives. Centered on acceptance of transience and imperfection in traditional Japanese aesthetics, the nature of “wabi-sabi” nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.
Around 700 years ago, particularly among the Japanese nobility, understanding the nature of “emptiness” and “imperfection” was honored as the first step to satori or enlightenment. Today “wabi-sabi" is understood as the wisdom of natural simplicity with elements of "flawed beauty”. So when creating artwork “wabi-sabi” emphasizes the process of making a piece that it is ultimately incomplete.
“Wabi-sabi” has roots in ancient Taoism and Zen Buddhism. It started to shape Japanese culture when the Zen priest Murata Jukō (1423–1502) modified the tea ceremony. He introduced simple, rough, wooden and clay instruments to replace the gold, jade, and porcelain of the Chinese style popular at the time. One hundred years later, tea master Sen no Rikyū (1522–1591) introduced “wabi-sabi” to royalty with his design of a teahouse with a door so low that even the emperor would have to bow to enter - reminding everyone of the importance of humility, mystery, and spirit.
Many forms of Japanese art have been influenced by the “Wabi-sabi” concept of contemplation of imperfection and constant flux of all things. Temple gardens of large open spaces were decorated with large rocks and other raw materials to build what we know today as “Zen rock gardens”. Visitors are encouraged to forget themselves being immersed in the seas of gravel and the forests of moss to perceive the huge landscapes deep within ourselves.
In the 21st century, “wabi-sabi” is expressed by computer software developers as agile programming. In strengthening our mental health “wabi-sabi” is a helpful concept for reducing perfectionist thinking by acknowledging an ebb and flow of our feelings and ideas - notion that nothing is perfect from the start.
May the “wabi-wabi” spirit of discovering and appreciating simply beauty fill your being. May we be lead to navigate the world by embracing the continuance of change.