I’ve reintroduced myself lately to the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi. I find that researching art that lands under the descriptor of wabi-sabi reinforces the more straightforward book definitions. Wabi can be understood as “rustic simplicity” and sabi is crudely translated into meaning “taking pleasure in the imperfect.” Wikipedia defines the term as “a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.” As a result, wabi-sabi inspired art often depicts motion, imperfection, and a lack of symmetry.
One could make the case that it’s the only perfect art. Life, too, has a seemingly permanent element of wabi-sabi. None of us are finished products. If there is beauty in life, then it seems that, by definition, beauty must be in the movement of transition (since there is no stillness, anyway). DEUCE student and my good friend, Vava Ribeiro, who is an accomplished South American photographer once told me that “the only perfect work is the work that you’re still working on. Once you say you’re done, the imperfections become final.”
Maybe a worldview of wabi-sabi will help free you from the illusion of perfection and finish-lines in life, or as Leonard Koren says it, “imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete”.
Onward.
Logan Gelbrich
@functionalcoach
3/10/20 WOD
Complete 4 rounds for max reps:
:30 Max Butterfly Pull Ups
-Rest :30-
:30 Max Push Ups
-Rest :30-
“20 is a Number”
AMRAP 20
20 Wall Balls (20/14)
20 Plyo Ski Hops
20 Hang Cleans (115/75)
20 Toes-to-Bar
20 Double Unders