While travelling a few days back, I overheard two college guys - their topic of discussion drew me into listening to their conversation. They seem to be having a group discussion amongst the two with little awareness of their surroundings. Looking at their books and dressing I guessed they were probably doing their MBA. They were talking about life beyond college. The sensible looking bespectacled guy carrying two big books was more interested in finding an excellent job with a good pay and probably seeking a chance to work abroad. The smarter looking of the two was more interested in settling down in his business and family life as soon as possible.Till that time I was just aware that they were talking about general topics, till the smarter looking guy told that he has a clear sense of what he wants from his life, he has everything planned to the tee. He was talking about his Perfect Business Plan and his Perfect Life. I got curious, for though I have not seen a whole lot of life, in my experience I knew that life can be anything other than a perfectly executed flight plan, with the exact co-ordinates, exact departure and arrival...if at all anything it can sometimes be on auto pilot with the controls out of your hand. I got a hunch that this smarter looking guy was trying to act smart and was trying to impress the people around him, at the same time pretending not to be aware of it. Anyways listening to his talk on his Plans - I lost interest and drifted into my own private and secluded world of thoughts... thinking about life and perfection or rather imperfection and the beauty of it.
It reminded me of something I read sometime back its called "Wabi" and "Sabi" - its a Japanese concept revolved around three simple but profound truths "nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect"
Wabi refers to tranquillity, also poverty, and originally was about the loneliness of living remote from society. Someone simple, non materialistic, humble, and in tune with nature would be described as wabi. The life of the hermit came to be called wabizumai, essentially ‘‘the life of wabi’’, a life of solitude and simplicity.
Sabi by itself meant lean or withered, as also ‘the bloom of time’ – signs of fading, tarnishing, the ageing and dulling of that which once sparkled.
Living a wabi-sabi life is the direct result of developing our life by living in the moment, paying attention to what makes life meaningful, learning to be satisfied – things otherwise overshadowed by the pressures and excesses of life today. We are encouraged to find beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature and, above all, to accept the natural cycle of growth, decay and death.
If we come to and we just stop where we are, become more aware of our surroundings and our feelings, getting clarity on what is possible and not, then working to strip away the superfluous and negative vibes; we have would have achieved a far greater sense of control over life than ever before. Because we do not have control over the past or the future - and only the present moment is something we can have perfect control over. In my opinion trying to make each moment more meaningful and beautiful will transform life and would eventually lead to more joy for us and others.
Coming back to the two guys, I couldn't rejoin them and hence do not know what conclusion they had reached about life and their plans, but for me the learning cycle in my thoughts were complete. Wabi - Sabi was the mantra to be remembered.
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