The Art of Letting Things Happen | A Japanese Philosophy That Will Change How You Think
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2023
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In this video, we explore the powerful Japanese concept known as wabi-sabi, looking into it's history, how its philosophy frames existence in a uniquely different way compared to most Western attitudes, and how it can be incredibly useful to integrate into our lives.
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Thank you for sharing this i truly needed it 🙏🏼
“The distance between good and perfect is infinite” Well said
So basically we need something infinite to bridge the gap.
Also stuck with me, very true!
'The perfect is the enemy of the good'.
"dont fear perfection, youll never reach it" - dali "art is never finished, only abandoned" - da vinci
why we still not understand it well
I lived in Japan for 3 years and learned about this philosophy early in my time there. Almost in every city in Japan people go to parks where cherry trees grow. Cherry trees blossom quickly and are beautiful for a short time. However it is the falling blossoms that the Japanese have the most emotional attachment to - for in the moment of their falling they are both beautiful and simultaneously ending their purpose. There is a haiku poem that translated means "without regret, they fall and scatter…cherry blossoms".
That is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
do you know what the haiku is in japanese?
@@bobshaft1587 Do you want the Japanese characters or pronunciation? Anyway, the pronunciation would be - miren naku chiru mo sakura wa sakura kana.
As a recovering perfectionist, this brought tears to my eyes.
how did you conquer that stubborn beast?
@@winnersmakenoexcuses2360 I had kids and lost so many battles with chaos that it got beaten into a bit of submission. I don't know if it is gone or just dormant.
"Everything we try will fail in some way. Everything we finish will be some amount incomplete. Everything we know, everything we cherish, everything that works right now, will decay, fall apart, and disappear into nothingness."
Maybe nothing ever even happened
Crying tears at 3am in the morning. I try to continuously pressure myself but why not just let it be? I am beautiful as I am; my life is beautiful as is and the people I’ve met and meet are beautiful as they are. It’s a life of beauty. I wish that’s what we all saw together
"It’s ordinary to love the beautiful,
but it’s beautiful to love the ordinary. “
acceptance and gratitude are the keys to life
This philosophy strikes a chord in our perfection-obsessed society, offering a refreshing perspective on what success and beauty truly mean. Wabi-sabi encourages us to shift our focus from the end result to the process, highlighting the beauty in every stage of life or creation, despite - or because of - its imperfections and inevitable decline. It seems to me that this philosophy can lead to a much more grounded, realistic, and content way of living. In a world where we often strive for unattainable perfection, the idea that nothing is finished, nothing lasts, and nothing is perfect might be exactly what we need to remember. Embracing wabi-sabi could potentially foster resilience, patience, and a deeper appreciation for life in its every form and stage. It's an invitation to shift our gaze from the flaws we perceive to the unique beauty that lies within them.
well said
:)
Beautifully said
There's a sub set of car culture that embraces "patina". This is where someone will fix a car that has been abandoned or neglected for a long time, up to the point that it runs and drives again, but will not fix the degraded paint and body damage all that much. The story of the car is considered to be an important element in it's attractiveness. This reminds me of Wabi-sabi, if not being a perfect fit.
Is this chatgpt?
You can see this in action if you love someone and watch them grow old, still loving them as much or more than ever.
You watch them slowly disappearing. Then they are gone. And you know thé meaning of forever.
That is beautiful. We are all made to love and be loved. Nobody is perfect.
Totally what I was thinking.
Life contains suffering. Most suffering is self inflicted due to attachments. I guess I'm like the teacup - reparing my cracks with bits of knowledge and understanding, creating a different and more beautiful existence.
You know its true when you start crying, thanks for writing that - from someone who relates
I love your analogy ❤
David, Thank you very much for saying this.
Yes suffering is most definitely self inflicted. Part of the ego's playbook!
" Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the Peace of God."
~A Course in Miracles ♥️
I liked your Teacup analogy ☕ Dave 🌸 thanks for sharing this
this is so beautiful wow
My current main motto in life is "good enough".
My motto at work with everything I do is "well it's better than what it was" 😁
I like that 👍🏾
@@brandonmccain2297good bro
its hard to accept
Acceptance of oneself is the first step toward genuine growth and personal transformation.
When you believe it's perfect, it's perfect.. And when you believe it's not, it's not.
The truth depends on what you believe, not on an ultimate concept.
anything that is repeated at brain becomes truth thats scary
This !
My whole life is basically a “wabi-sabi” type of life. Bc I was born with a genetic disorder where a part of my dna is missing, automatically making my body and life, philosophically speaking, “wabi-sabi.” I’ve never looked at my life this way, in a philosophical type of why, even though I do love learning about philosophy, i don’t really apply it to my everyday life, bc some concepts aren’t applicable. But this philosophy definitely is.
😢 same feeling. I have lupus and life seems to be fleeting. Every moment counts
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic philosophy that appreciates the beauty of imperfection, transience, and the natural cycle of growth and decay. It values simplicity, asymmetry, and the unique characteristics that come with age and wear. Wabi-sabi encourages finding beauty in the imperfect, incomplete, and modest, embracing the inherent flaws and subtleties in objects, nature, and life itself.
"We all try to control our little worlds.
We all come up with plans for our future, and we try to stay on track with those plans.
But life just happens, and it can blow everything we thought our life would be out of the water in a blink.
Nothing is ever really in its right place.
Yet, we never stop trying to put things 'right.'
We pick up pieces of our old, broken plans and we try to build new ones, over and over, totally at the mercy of our own chaotic little worlds."
Bravo😊
Beautiful Wabi-sabi. ❤. Today I'm 51.... what a wonderful way to start my day!
Happy belated birthday !!!! 🦋
Japanese culture is so deep and philosophical, videos like these make me happy thanks 😻😻😻😻
The practice of kinsuki as you describe in the video is almost a self contained philosophy in its own right.
The idea of a subject becoming more valuable due to having imperfections that were corrected with valuable bonds is what stood out to me.
The universe is defined by its imperfection. If it was perfect, the matter and antimatter would have mutually canceled each other out, and there would just be void. Instead we have a universe of diversity, of stars, of planets, of people, of thought, of feeling. Flowers, Marie Curie, Elvis Presley, pizza, chess. All because the universe wasn't perfect to begin with. That fact has always been comforting to me.
Wow I never tought about it in this way. What you said about there being nothing if the univers would have been perfect to begin with makes me realize that ww should appreciate what we have right now even if it is imperfect because that's the only way it could have ever existed
They made a whole video about your comment on this channel. Don't recall it's title but it's there. Worth a watch
@@Yosetime Can you share the link please?
Diversity allows for abundance, entertainment, variety, and existence.
We strife for so much order that is not obvious we would ignore disorder's order.
Dang who knew wasabi could be so deep
Edit- to everyone saying wabi Sabi: wasabi, deal with it 😤
🤣
Mmmmmm
Horseradish
Bhaiii😂
Saucy
Great joke indeed
3:39 Beautiful. There was a scene in the series The Man In The High Castle that focused on this kind of repair of a broken porcelain cup. Thank you for shedding more light on that moment.
Make it look like a lil Jon crunk cup
If perfection is ever attained, there's literally nothing left to do or to improve upon. I pray perfection is never reached. It'll be all over.
It’s hard to separate your writing from the philosophical text but regardless, I’m immersed in each story’s meaning
This philosophy and aesthetic has been formalized by the Japanese concept of wabi sabi, but once you’ve taken it in, it’s everywhere. The Stoics, for example, emphasized the importance of knowing how the universe operates (physics) in setting proper expectations. Impermanence is embraced by indigenous animistic culture everywhere. Embracing oneness involves not only acceptance of, but appreciation for, all in its constantly varying but inevitable stages.
“The imperfect is our paradise.
Note that, in this bitterness, delight,
Since the imperfect is so hot in us,
Lies in flawed words and stubborn sounds.”
‘The Poems of Our Climate’ Wallace Stevens, 1942
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
- Leonard Cohen (Anthem)
This short video, like so many others of yours has changed my life...thank you.
This is why i stopped trying to produce music perfectly. Perfectly following a scale, perfectly timing everything, perfectly processing everything; until I realized that imperfect human touch is what makes a song “perfect.”
Indeed.
I teach music to kids. I decided last night that my classes don’t have to be perfect. Making it fun for them is just as important as making sure they can play their instrument, the ukulele.
The motto that the kids made up is “Perfect Enough”.
@@nickiemcnichols5397 lol thats interesting. Maybe they can develop a motto that’s like “if you’re having fun, you’re doing it right” idk lol
One of my favorite philosophies in furniture making, an extension of a taoist mindset
The most important information I have been given in a long time. Wabi Sabi and Kikugai resonate with my soul. Thank you so much.
Wow, this video is short but so impactful. Thank you or these beautiful reminders.
Balance in the self is key to all things.
this channel is so good it's unbeliveable
wow! this was lovely, thank you!
That was insanely eye opening thank you
_Whatever happens, happens._
❤
Thank you for uploading 🙏🏻
Literally the ending statements are amazing.
notification of this video popped up right when i needed it. thank you
This channel always does me good, thank you so very much
Awesome lovely video, Robert never disappoints.
I needed this. For so long!
One Love!
Always forward, never ever backward!!
☀☀☀
💚💛❤
🙏🏿🙏🙏🏼
This is an excellent video. Cheers.
Will I be harmed after my death?
That's the most important question that I could ever ask, having anything to do with me.
So important to me is it, that it overrides the importance of everything else, including what you were just speaking about in your video.
Excellent. Brilliant. Thank you 🙏🏼
Love kintsugi. Have repaired a bowl that broke. Glued it the covered broken parts in gold paint. It is lovely.
Imagination is the only true weapon in the war against reality.
Such a relevant useful message/reminder/philosophy for the times we find ourselves in.
Well done, well said!
This Japanese Concept is extremely interesting. I have seen the pottery with gold, but never knew the "gold" was actually repairs to the cracks in the pottery. Wabisabi is very interesting indeed, thanks for sharing this information with us.
Watching ur video always give me a sense of peace
Thank you for this. It is reminding me to relax into reality.
in college i wrote an essay about Japanese tea ceremony and this was dope to watch. I focussed on the potery and had to do a bunch of research so this was really satisfying to be able to refresh on the topic through a new lense
I love your videos, its my dose of existential crisis😂❤
Same
same brooo😂
love this....Thank you!
Beautiful video . thankyou so much dude❤
The perfection of imperfection.
videos like yours and the podcast Secular Buddhism have really helped me shift perspective through severe chronic illness and given me a lighter more graceful outlook on life.
To some extent, although more tacitly that Wabi-Saba, most cultures celebrate these principles. The Greek oratory techniques, Logos, Pathos, and Ethos. In Australia we have a wonderful poem created by Dorothea Mackeller:
MY COUNTRY
The love of field and coppice, of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens is running in your veins.
Strong love of grey-blue distance, brown streams and soft, dim skies-
I know but cannot share it, my love is otherwise.
I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror- the wide brown land for me!
The stark white ring-barked forests, all tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains, the hot gold hush of noon,
Green tangle of the brushes where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops, and ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country! Her pitiless blue sky,
When, sick at heart, around us we see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather, and we can bless again
The drumming of an army, the steady soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country! Land of the rainbow gold,
For flood and fire and famine she pays us back threefold.
Over the thirsty paddocks, watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness that thickens as we gaze.
An opal-hearted country, a wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her, you will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours, wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country my homing thoughts will fly.
-Dorothea McKellar, 1904
Thank you for the information
Key insights
🔥 Western tradition's obsession with reason and order as weapons against the universe may lead to a constant need for perfection, causing us to lose sight of the beauty in imperfection and the acceptance of the coldness of the universe.
🌸 The concept of wabi-sabi teaches us to embrace the imperfections and transience of reality, finding peace in the constant flux of life.
🌸 Wabi-sabi acknowledges the authenticity of impermanence, embracing the idea that nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.
🍵 The Japanese tea ceremony was redefined based on the principles of wabi-sabi, embracing simplicity and imperfection.
🌸 Beauty, according to wabi-sabi, is a dynamic event that occurs between us and something else, reminding us that perfection is an infinite distance away and that the process itself is part of the result.
🌿 Wabi-sabi teaches us to accept the reality of decay and incompleteness, reminding us of the interconnectedness of all things.
🌸 "Wabi-sabi may not be everyone's taste, and no one can ever totally embrace imperfection, but perhaps in our own imperfect abilities to ever fully embrace imperfection, we are still embodying the idea of wabi-sabi perfectly."
🌸 "Ikigai" is a Japanese concept that emphasizes purpose-driven activity, low stress, and a balanced lifestyle as keys to happiness and longevity
Thank you for this enlightening video on the philosophy of wabi-sabi. It's a refreshing perspective that encourages us to embrace the imperfections and transience of life, rather than constantly striving for unattainable perfection. This concept is a gentle reminder that beauty can be found in the most unexpected places, even in the cracks, stains, and wrinkles that we often overlook or deem undesirable. It's a philosophy that can truly change the way we perceive our lives and the world around us. Keep up the great work!
Really needed your chanel man, thank you!
This is absolutely fantastic
Beautiful insights, thank you
Love this philosophy. Never heard this before. Thanks.
Thank you I enjoyed that!
Thank you for good contents.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for this great video bro :)
MY GOD! TOTALLY!!!! THANK YOU FORCLARIFYING!
Excellent presentation 👏👏
I like this kind of art because you're not exposed to the fumes of the paint that drives some artist crazy.
Want a perfection like you..... Pure focus on your work.
Thank you Very much Sir.
Like a flower, that's why I love you with your thorns.
Thank u for this great vedio❤
I love all your videos, i've watched them all and trust me you have completely changed the way i think. Thank you so much even if you do see this comment just thank you
finally I know a word for the "mode" I am in sometimes. I would call days on where I could see beauty in everything "days of wonderment". It's a state of constant bliss, entranced in co-existence with what is and how it came to be.
"It is one thing to desire the perfect; it is another thing, entirely, to demand it, to accept nothing but the perfect." Vita, Duchess de Boheme.
I didn't know imperfection could be that perfect
And perfection could be that imperfect.
Beautiful video
Love this ❤ thank you
"If your soul burns with passion and desire then it is your duty to be reduced to ashes by it."
Loved the video ❤
I love your videos, keep up with the nice work ❤❤❤
I needed this wisdom today, somehow!
Thank you
Beautiful video. I’m really going to try seeing the beauty of imperfection in life in all of its’ forms. Maybe starting with myself as a perfectly imperfect being. I am a work in progress. And that is enough.
This is also a reason why some of the most beautiful people may also have a characteristic that is charming. Not always fitting into the pre-concieved notions or standards, essence may be enjoyed. By the way, I am a stckler for symmetry in a room. It is my ability to notice whenever a placement of an object or a measurement is even slightly off! I can be annoying in that regard. Thank you for your video. We learned about this wabi-sabi years ago in art school but to be honest, we need to bring this subject up again in the current world that we live in.
Indeed one cannot force your thoughts to become reality. No way that happens. I have experience it. It feels like Universe and I are against each other. So you explained his concept beautifully. Aside from Ikigai I would like to recommend two books from Japanese authors Fujimoto Koga and Ichiro Ishimi : The courage to be disliked and the courage to be happy. It mixes and explains the teachings of greek philosphers and the psychologist "Adler" in a dialogue manner. A person talks about his problems, insecurities, lack of belief in himself to a guru who is said to provide happiness to all human. The person debates with this Sage/priest/ Guru whatever you call. Did he get an answer? Find out after reading it. Highly recommended!!!🙏🙏
I love this chanel. Thank you.
In my college ceramics class we used Wabi Sabi when making imperfect projects. We were encouraged to use odd shapes and used Raku. We cooled the projects outside and dropped it in a box of wood chips, newspaper, ECT. It created some randomly vibrant or completely unexpected looks based entirely on chemistry and chance.
This video inspired me. I have tons of cracked or repaired stuff that looks like crap because I can't throw it away- it's time to embrace the art of kintsugi. It'll be the most beautiful Hoarders episode ever 👍
In other words, gratitude.
Most excellent! Please do a video on Gaman. A great many folks can benefit from practicing Gaman as well as Wabi Sabi
Love this
I loved it ❤