Wabi-sabi, and the nature of this blog

Excusemimasen: a humorous amalgamation of "excuse me" and "sumimasen", its Japanese equivalent.

Wabi-sabi is a somewhat more difficult concept to describe; it does not translate directly into English. A word used in Japanese aesthetics, it refers to the acceptance of impermanence and appreciation for imperfection. If you do enough reading on it, you'll see the same terms keep popping up: simple, rustic, natural, asymmetrical, authentic, unexpected. Some examples of where you can find wabi-sabi include haiku, Zen and Japanese gardens, tea ceremony, and ikebana.

Ganked from Wikipedia and, in turn, yoinked from Richard Powell's Wabi Sabi Simple:

"It nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."

Hate to gank, but it was well put.
We all do this, at least a little. I'm a bit fond of the chicken pox scar to the right of my nose. There's an endearing quality to the way aged books yellow and smell.


Wind-swept shifting sands
on the beach, in a desert,
Never-ceasing time

See what I did there? Sink me, the lady's a poet. But not a very good one, alas.

Speaking of haiku, there is a brilliant, charming, and beautiful children's book titled Wabi Sabi--named for the feline protagonist. It is definitely worth a read. I will probably buy it at some point if my mother hasn't already done so.

The more I discover about wabi-sabi, the more I think that if I could truly discover and master wabi-sabi, I could find some sort of deep contentment with the world. I'm already partway there--the aesthetics of wabi-sabi have influenced me for years, although I hadn't a name to put with the face, so to speak. With regards to the appreciation of imperfection, a little voice in my head reminds me that I appear to be a perfectionist sometimes. Then the analytical side of me retorts that perfection is an abstract and non-absolute term, and so could be found in imperfection. And this recalls a quote from Austen's Emma which I particularly enjoyed: "Maybe it is our imperfections which make us so perfect for one another." (Ok, my mind took a bit of a squirrelish dash there, but it tends to travel tangentially, in an unending branch-like pattern.)
I also find it slightly ironic that I'm speaking of searching for wabi-sabi, using this media. While the internet is a constantly changing entity, reeking of imperfections, there is too much permanency and no natural aging and decomposition. (Now that's an interesting picture.) And I have serious doubts that the internet will ever be...rustic. Although one day, it might be "quaint," in the words of Scotty.
So, have you seen my wabi-sabi? And if you do...please ask it to remind my sanity that dinner is getting cold?

Heck, my holey jeans are wabi-sabi.

~~~

Gentle Viewers: I welcome your comments, but please help me keep this blog clean and respectable. Happily, I get to review all comments. So don't post any crap--if you do, it will be smote down with my mighty smote stick (the delete/disallow comment button) before it can even see the light of publishment. ^_^
Have at!
Also, you will often find that most Japanese words in my blog will have a handy little box if you mouse over them with a translation/explanation for those who are unfamiliar with the terms. For example, mouse-over: Hanami or Asaka period
I might even put in little Easter egg mouse-overs, just for funsies.
I intend on maintaining the anonymity of people I may mention in this blog by omitting last names, unless asked to do otherwise. I also will not directly name the school I will be attending, although I seriously doubt any issues would arise if I were to use its name.


I'm uncertain of the future of this blog once I return from Japan. Perhaps it will turn into some other kind of blog. *shrug* I cannot predict these things. As of now, I will try to keep regular entries--every day or every other day. Whatever works. I apologize in advance if some entries degrade into photo entries. By the way--don't steal my photos as your own. All photos posted on this blog are owned by myself, unless I indicate otherwise.