3 Reasons Why Wabi Sabi is Your Friend

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A beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete…

There’s great beauty to be found in imperfections. Think Wabi Sabi.

Anyone with an artistic inclination intuitively knows this, as creatives, we think we do. But this comes directly at odds with our drive for perfection, perfection that is elusive and brief.

And hey! why should anyone other than yourself be allowed to say what's imperfect if it feels perfect to you? Share on X

Artist’s whole purpose is to capture that fleeing perfect moment, perfect conditions, perfect being. And coming to terms with the result is an in-your-face way to accept we are only human, the most perfectly imperfect beings.

Letting go of being perfect, doing it perfectly, achieving perfection or nothing is the daily hurdle of an artist. The battle between what we aim for and what we get, what we envision and the ultimate reality. We need to come to terms with our own human limitations…but if and when we see our creation as a perfect act in itself, we see that what’s come into being, what has been written, drawn, built, is just the way it’s supposed to be. You are just the way we are supposed to be. And you can always challenge and improve, we are meant to grow, but not away from who we truly are, only deeper, better, wiser.

I’m not suggesting that as creatives we should aim only for good enough. But we should understand that good enough is part of the journey, a commendable achievement and the stepping stone for what’s next, for what will take us farther. A perfect life is one filled with good enoughs that were lived and celebrated, appreciated as learning experiences pointing in the direction of our dreams.

So, why is Wabi Sabi your friend?

Wabi Sabi is peace of mind. It reassures us that we don’t have to be perfect, we have to be authentic.

Wabi Sabi is acceptance. Before we can move in the direction of growth we need to see and appreciate where we are, our starting point each and every day. We have to love and learn to work with the creative tools we’ve been given.

Wabi Sabi is the gateway to moving on. When we stop labeling our personal, external, internal, behavioral, intellectual, emotional attributes and either perfect or imperfect, we’ll stop wasting time and energy. We’ll start devoting that time and energy to do what we love best, to add to and partake of the Wabi Sabi all around us.

Let’s end with a fitting tweet and a perfect daily creative mantra:

You do not need to be perfect to be whole Share on X

What has made you come to terms with Wabi Sabi latetly?