WABI SABI Embracing Imperfection:

Do you feel like our modern day lives are too fast paced? Do you feel like we have to strive for perfection in every aspect of our lives, which generally leads to a lot of procrastination around the things we know we need to do… because deep down we know perfection is not attainable. Whenever we think about this however, those thoughts are generally met with us shrugging our shoulders and going back to what we were doing hoping that some day things will get better, someday we will figure it out. 

But our lives won’t change unless we implement that change… our lives are up to us, not our circumstances…

So then why do we live like this and how do we fix it? 

The short and simple answer is, we live like this because that is the norm. And its much easier for us to see what other people are doing and follow the crowd than forge our own unique path; However there is a catch. Because you have chosen to do what is easy, that which does not require much pioneering, your life will be hard, if instead you choose to do what is hard, and forging your own path your life will be easy. 

The Japanese philosophy of Wabi Sabi may give us some insight and guidelines as too how to find an antidote to our out of reach perfect lives.

So let us define first what Wabi Sabi means:

Wabi Sabi are on their own two different concepts, but they were brought together to form one. Wabi is about recognising the beauty in the humble, simplistic and rustic in nature. Rather than focusing on perfect beauty such as a full moon or clear skies, wabi finds beauty in all states of live.  . It focuses on the beauty of the impermanence of ageing. Together these two concepts join to create a combination of appreciating the humble, simple and yet impermanence of all sates of life. 

Wabi Sabi is thus, in essence, the acceptance of the imperfect, impermanence of all things, staying in the present moment, and appreciating the simple and humble in all stages of life; and that extends to how we should view our own lives. 

Everyone has their own interpretation of Wabi Sabi 

It is important to note that before we continue everyone has their own interpretation of what Wabi Sabi is and how they can implement it in their own lives as a philosophy and to help them navigate to a life that focuses less on perfectionism and more on acceptance. So I encourage you draw your own conclusions as to what this philosophy will mean to you and what you will distil from it. If you want to read more there are a few books on the topic, I highly suggest Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life  By Beth Kempton.

What I distil from it based on findings:

Here are some practical applications of how to implement this way of thinking into our everyday life, so that we can start to feel more in control over our lives:

6 parts of wabi sabi in action in our lives:

1) Declutter your environment and minimise your stuff, store away your things when you are not using them

Like minimalism, when we start to declutter and take stock of what we actually have, we realise we have quite a lot. Some things we might have even forgotten that we had them. Once we declutter and get rid of things we do not need and and don’t use, and store away the things we do not need right now, we will start to cultivate a deeper appreciation for the things we do have and own. We will go from a mindset of lack and accumulation, always looking to attain more stuff to being content with what we have, because what we have is enough. Adopting this mindset is one easy way of detaching yourself from the notion that we always need more. Our things no longer have a hold on us. And once that happens, our stress and anxiety will decrease as we are no longer worried about the need of attainment and materialistic forms of success. This can have a massive ripple effect in our lives to the point where we can pursue a totally different career path and focus more on our passions and self actualisation as we do not need to earn as much to sustain a lifestyle we no longer require.

2) Choose items that will last over a long period, over short term compulsive spending. Choose used items made from natural materials.

Both these add to simple living, and to the previous point about decluttering and minimising our stuff. What we choose to buy and own once we have decluttered and eventually need to purchase something again, should be met with questions like will this last me for a long time? can I get a better model for a little bit more that will be far superior in quality? When purchasing furniture for example you may want to look at natural solid or antique furniture that was built to last generations over cheaply made supermarket furniture. Having these items in your house will bring a sense of nature into your home, as well as brining that sense of the transient quality of all life. 

The meaning behind this is to create a sense of meaning and connection nature and the character and history of the previous owners. 

3) Learn to appreciate the simplicity of life, a more minimalistic and less is more life.

For example taking time to appreciate a single flower blooming from a tree rather than only marvelling at a tree covered in flowers. There is beauty in all states of life and in their simplicity. To quote Leonardo da Vinci “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. We enjoy looking at a full moon, but not really the same level when looking at a 3/4 moon and so on. Learn to appreciate nature, life, in all its phases. You can use this as a means of looking at yourself. We often are only proud or happy with ourselves when we when we have accomplished a major goal or completed a large task. Instead, be content with yourself that you are in the process of achieving your goal, that you are taking the steps necessary to become the person you aspire to be. See the beauty in yourself in that state of life you are in right now. As what you are going through right now will form and shape you into the future.

4) Slow down the pace of life.

Slowing down is the antidote to living in chaos and feeling out of control of your own life. Decide for yourself to dissociate from the idolisation of constant busyness and toxic productivity. We cannot do everything and if we think we can we will end up accomplishing nothing at all. We need to make the active decision to prioritise what is essential and to say no to or delegate what is not essential in our lives. When we are busy being busy, we miss out on so much of life; it passes us by because we are too distracted with other things. When we slow down our pace and focus on what really matters instead, we feel less overwhelmed and more alive. We can only truly experience the joy of being alive when we slow down enough to enjoy it.

5) Being present in the moment in all that you do.

(This goes back to stoicism where Marcus Aralius said “concentrate like a Roman, do each task as if it were your last”.) The Japanese Tea rooms were made to host minimal distraction, they were small quiet rooms where people could sit and enjoy a nice cup of tea, focusing solely on the experience of drinking tea. This focus on the present moment and on the experience of drinking tea is what heightened the enjoyment that they felt. That presence of the moment is an integral part of Wabi Sabi. Contrast to in the west where we subconsciously eat a bag of chips while watching a movie, we do not even notice that we ate the chips, only that the bag is now empty. All we have is the present moment. We like to reminisce about the past but we can never hold it again, and every-time we recall the past we remember it slightly differently, altering that very memory each time we revisit it. And our grasp on the future is a fools game; the humble and the wise know that life will never go according to our plans no matter how much time we plan or how clear cut we think our path is. Therefore we only have the present moment.

6) Cultivate an appreciation for the passage of time and beauty of ageing in yourself, and others as well as in nature.

It is an appreciation of wisdom, depth and growth, “the fleeting nature of experiences and of existence itself” as noted by Richard Powell, author of the book Wabi Sabi Simple. By cultivating an appreciation for the passage of time, we become more aware of the mortality of life, its impermanence and fragility. We also start to change our old definition of beauty from the polished and perfect to the old and filled with character, giving us a new perspective of the world; and as a side product we start to worry less and less about the standards of today and holding ourselves to others ideals and notions, as we accept who we are in our current state, our own fragility and ageing beauty.


By implementing these takeaways into our lives we will embrace imperfection and move away from struggling to reach the unattainable. By simplifying our lives and becoming more present in the moment we will be free of wanting more than we need and becoming more content and happy with what we have. From these understandings we will be able to live with less stress and anxiety, make more time for the things that matter and become detached from things that are not important to us.

So in keeping with the philosophy of wabi sabi, I realise I cannot do this topic absolute justice and that this blog post isn’t going to be perfect, nor am I going to strive for perfection in this blog post. I am simply going to try distil what I have gathered and will try implement from this philosophy into my own life. You may have a different interpretation and that’s the beauty of it. If we strive toward perfection we will sacrifice so much, where as if we rather focus on acceptance of things as they are and make progress daily we will live a more happy, healthy and fulfilling life. 

Thank you guys for reading this blog, I hope that it was helpful, if it was please share it with others who might find it useful too.

Till next time guys

Bye bye