Solace in Flawed Beauty

Based on Wabi-Sabia Japanese Philosophy

- Ankur R. Gupta

The Indian cuckoo bird (Koel) is always valued for its melodious voice and not shunned for its color. Green mosses growing on a rustic old wall are considered artistically beautiful, not ugly. We acknowledge the beauty in the imperfections of mother nature.

Then, why do we Humans want everything about us to be perfect? A perfect career, life partner, family, and looks? We never expect a melodious cuckoo to be as beautiful as a peacock as we accept them with their flaws.

Then, why do we tangle ourselves in comparisons and are overly critical of our imperfections? With the desire for perfection, we keep burning ourselves under the constant pressure of excessively high standards to prove ourselves to others. Often, such compulsions lead to us disappointments and discontentment.

In the contemporary world where we are constantly living under materialistic pressures, Wabi-Sabi an ancient Japanese ideology reflects a fresh insight into living. It reveals to us, the art of living in imperfection and simplicity to enjoy an optimistically contended life.

These philosophies center around balancing our life on the wheels of impermanence, imperfection, and incompleteness.

Wabi-Sabi conceptualized that nothing is permanent as everything in nature keeps changing and fades with time. Hence nothing is defined as Perfect. It also theorized on embracing the things with their flaws, damages, and incompleteness.

The Origin:

The Wabi-Sabi ideas came into existence by Sen no Rikyu, the sixteenth-century Zen monk who also started the concept of the famous Japanese tea ceremony. As a young lad, he went to a renowned tea master named Takeeno Joo for training. The latter wanted to test the abilities of his new apprentice and asked him to take care of the garden.