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Wabi Sabi, a great way of life

26th Jan 2023. 3 min read.

I bought this irregular piece of pottery at a local cafe shop displaying the artwork of young artists.

I wanted to support the local artists to encourage them for their effort and it is an extra source of income for hardworking people.

Pottery takes time to create ideas, weeks and months, even years to hone this craft, and patience to shape and bring it to its final glory.

What strikes me most about this piece is the irregularity and not the perfect and flawless symmetry that I used to look for in craftwork.

It reminds me of Wabi Sabi, the Japanese philosophy of imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness and finding beauty in it.

Wabi Sabi is to embrace that life is a cycle of growth and decay and one must find wisdom moving through life.

Wabi Sabi as I see it.

Imperfections in Life

While living each day bring challenges, practicing Wabi Sabi helps me see that one should use kindness as much as possible.

The world can be a harsh place to live in as some humans have the propensity to judge, criticize and condemn. This can happen in any society even at home.

Practising Wabi Sabi means forgiving others who are finding their ways in life and have made mistakes.

It means forgiving yourself when you have erred and trying to rectify it.

It means being mindful that human beings are imperfect.

I have been discouraged by others when I was younger so I would prefer to encourage, enlighten and empower others with the knowledge that I have. If not, I could find someone who can.

I forgive those who are brash and cunning because the problems are with them.

This is a more compassionate and constructive way of living with others.

Impermanence in Life

Life goes in a flash. Practising Wabi Sabi makes me mindful of the fleeting nature and impermanence of life hence I would treasure time to improve myself in many aspects – communication, education, and the application of life principles that I believe in.

This I hope would impress my children and some to do the same.

I would treasure with my loved ones and good friends the happy and fruitful times we have together and seize every moment that is memorable. What’s left are indelible, inspiring memories.

Incompleteness in Life

Wabi Sabi is about the incompleteness of living.

Life is not completed in death. We return to nature from whence growth comes back to nurture us.

Work can never be completed even as a retiree as there is always stuff to attend to.

Aging is ongoing as we are works of nature.

Hence, practicing Wabi Sabi means that I must make time to appreciate the power and beauty of nature and slow down to inculcate a daily life balance. So that the true beauty of nature and the seasons do not just whisk past me.

The next time, you want to throw away something old, think Wabi Sabi. As it also discourages waste.

Is there any aesthetic in it?

Is there an important lesson behind it?

Is it still functional?

It may be flawed but since life is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete, maybe it could become an inspirational object.

A powerful piece of equipment

21st Jan 2023 1 min read

The monkey bars are not exactly fun to do

As I grip the bars, my palms ache

It is not a pleasant sensation

It is the struggle that I cherish

That of grit, endurance, and aim

That I see developed by those metal rods

The sun dazzled my eyes when I looked up at those bars

As I move assiduously with my grip

Swinging as gently as I could

I feel the instant formation of the calluses

But soon I will be victorious

In enhancing my endurance to any discomfort, difficulty, or disaster

That appears in daily life.

Love’s Journey

21st Jan 2023 1 min read ( The Power of Poetry)

Once young, and behaving willy nilly

Doing things together no matter how silly

That was because love was blind

It kept our growth in a bind

Used to be we were joined at the hips

Sometimes, it would be our lips

But as one grew older, opinions and experiences differ

Your mature mind started to decipher

One would decide to make one’s mind

That might not gel with your lover’s kind

At this point, things may start to fall apart

If not remedied, your paths may part

The solution is mutual respect

As each has his or her unique aspect

Accept that one needs his or her personal space

To continue to grow at one’s own pace.

17th January 2023 1 min read

Time is relentless

Time is merciless

Should I fight time

Or just remain sublime

I shall go with the flow

In this way, time will seem slow

Merrily, gleefully I tread

I will make life glad.

‘Cos the power is with me

‘Cos God is in me.

15th Jan 2023 1 min read (poetry)

I look at it past midnight

It is the birth of another day

The day before seems far away

I can’t stop the tide of time

What can?

Nothing

It will persist into eternity

What will last?

Nothing

Just seize each moment

13th Jan 2023 2min read

We are still on the cusp of a brand New Year. During this time, we often talk about resolutions that are broken.

Even broken as they will be, we must continue to pursue to make life worth living.

I will focus on one habit that is useful.

Start early every day.

I can share the immense benefits. Much as I would like to slither like a snake between the bedsheets and wallow deeper into the mattress due to the soft morning lights, I know that good things lie ahead if I only would just get up.

Used to be, my time is so tight that I would skip my breakfast and leave the house in a hurry, and arrive at the clinic panting.

Thanks to my dog’s training, things are different. She awaits me every morning patiently as I instinctively wake up, like a caring. grandmother, eager to attend to her grandchild’s needs.

After I scoop up the warm furry bundle of my Spitz dog and buckle my waist pouch containing her comb and her poo bags, we would set off at dawn for a walk around the estate to answer her calls of nature.

The morning Sun is always gentle and soothing. It rejuvenated my mind, being, and spirit, and the cool breeze makes my eyes smart.

My joints are oiled and my steps become brisk.

As the soft Sun exposure synthesizes the Vitamin D and makes my bone stronger, I am greeted by many smiley faces as other dog lovers are also energized by the morning air.

Something about the mornings that only walking a dog would make one discover.

The neighborhood is quiet, neighbors are renewing their houses, paths are being retiled, gardens are so manicured and blooming with flowers, the birds chirp, and there is a lot to look forward to in the days ahead.

We come home, the dog is cleaned and ready for her breakfast and her nap and it’s only 7.30 am!

I have gained a one-hour head start which I never had before the dog came.

My mind is now clear as day, and I am able to have a leisurely breakfast and make some plans.

My point is, just start earlier than usual, you don’t really need a dog but a dog is a great motivating factor. Otherwise one needs sheer self-discipline to leave your comfort zone.

Start earlier than your usual schedule in the morning or when working towards any goals. You will surprise yourself with the extra time you never thought you can have.

And that is the time you have earned to do anything you want including working on something that you said you have no time for.