A Wabibito

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A Wabibito

is what I want to be

Ikebana

someone who understands the wisdom

of the grasshoppers and the rocks

Zen Rock Garden Kyoto

I want to become satisfied 

with my life

a simple life lived modestly

I want to pare back

and live now

and feel the peace
of the natural world
around me

Tea House

Wabi Sabi

is a Japanese view or aesthetic

based on the acceptance of transience

It suggests we find a beauty in 

all that is

Imperfect

Impermanent

and 

Incomplete

Bonsai Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

in the humble

the modest

and the unconventional

Shakuhachi Flute

Wabi Sabi nurtures all

that is authentic by acknowledging

those three simple realities

Nothing lasts

Nothing is finished

Nothing is perfect

Tale of Genji text 12th Century earliest illustrated Handscroll

The word Wabi

speaks of a rustic simplicity

a quietness

with the quirks and anomalies

which add uniqueness

and an elegance 

to a creation

Tea Cup, Hagi Ware 17th Century

Sabi

suggests a weathered rusty beauty 

and serenity

that comes with age

when the life of the object

and its impermanence are evidenced 

in its patina and wear

Kenrokuen Hanami

This is how I want to age

with wabi sabi

accepting the natural cycle of growth

decay and death

wearing the bloom of time

 Shigaraki Jar

Wabi Sabi can be considered
the material representation 

of Zen Buddhism

 

Black Raku Tea Bowl, 16th century

A wabibito

is a person

who is free in heart

who is comfortably oneself

and has the ability

to make do with less...

to appreciate the nobility
in the simple
and the common

A man is rich

in proportion to the number of things

which he can afford

to let alone

Henry David Thoreau

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Labelled Illustrations from Wiki commons