It is the month of August and the dog days of summers are upon us. The year change is 5 months shy and God alone knows what other calamity is left more to witness! The Beirut explosion, termed as " unquestionably one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions in history" by the experts, is said to have about one-tenth of explosive power of the atomic bomb dropped over the Japanese city during the World War 2, incidentally also marking its anniversary on August 6th.
My sanguine thoughts and prayer for the people in Lebanon to overcome this loss and the socio-political unrest!
The gloomy event brings us to the topic today- Yugen and more importantly wabi-sabi.
The word Yugen derives its origin from Japan, meaning mysterious grace. It is an aspect of Japanese aesthetics which means a profound, mysterious sense of beauty of the universe and of the sad suffering. Which leads us to wabi- sabi- a world view centered on acceptance of transience and imperfections. A beauty that you seek, in which, is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. Because that infact is the real beauty. The Japanese culture has always inspired me. The way they build themselves up, after all was left devastated. They understand loss, natural calamities given all the earthquake and volcanoes they have to endure and yet they leave no stone unturned in making astounding progress. And that gives me hope!
Time and again we have directed our appreciation towards objects, things and people perceived to check certain boxes/ standards that society at large has set. In the world do you dare to be your own? Do you have the courage to stand your ground and defy the empty standards someone said you must adhere to?
There is a short story about a washer woman who worked as a laundress for a merchant residing on top of a hill. Every day she would walk down the hill to collect water from the stream nearby. When she was young she made two pots and colored them red and blue which made it easy for her to collect water. She loved her pots. Everyday she would walk downhill, carry a pole on her shoulders upon which she hung her beautiful pots. The water she carried was enough to do laundry. As the time passed by she noticed the blue pot has developed a slender crack along its side. She whispered, " My poor pot, will you still hold the water for me?" Some time passed by and the crack kept getting bigger. The blue pot worried now that soon it will be discarded by the woman as the pot could only carry half of its capacity. One morning when the woman was collecting water from the stream, she heard someone wail. Looking over the shoulder curiously, she noticed the crying was coming from somewhere close. She asked amazed, " Is that you blue pot? Are you speaking my dear?" " It is I", the pot said, " and sorry to have failed you." Overjoyed the woman answered, " You don't understand, just look around". For the first time the pot stopped looking inward and instead looked at the path over the hill. On the right side he noticed the path was edged with blooming flowers poppies, daises and peonies. Like a ribbon of color ran through, it was such a delightful sight. The lady now spoke, " I knew about your crack and decided to plant seeds. Everyday you would water them and just see what a beautiful difference you made to the world!"
All the sadness of the blue pot was gone, for it understood, that every being has its unique features. And it is for these little quirks that makes this world so interesting!
I, for one represented state in basketball and have loved the sport more than anything. The sound of basketball dribbling is music to my ears still. However that was not a very viable career choice. Being fickle minded person, being a hair dresser was next on the list. But coming from a family where education means so much more, that didn't fly too. I remember how my insistence to not do MBA directly after the graduation was questioned too? But I am happy how things unfolded for me and I wouldn't have it any other way!
I am glad we are living in times where our next generation is met with more acceptance for their choices- eccentric or not. This attitudinal shift is apparent in the movies that are made today, the unconventional casts, choice of clothing, non- binary lifestyle- you just name it! And I am so elated it does...
So here's the post calling out and cheering for celebrating your imperfections. May you find your beauty, your wabi- sabi in your uniqueness. It's time you get boasting... And with the following parting thought, I bid you good bye and wish you a happy and relaxed weekend forward!
"You will always be too much of something for someone: too big, too loud, too soft, too edgy. If you round out your edges, you lose your edge.
Apologize for mistakes. Apologize for unintentionally hurting someone- profusely. But don't apologize for being who you are."
Catch you next Friday!
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