All too often we bemoan our imperfections rather than embrace them as part of the process in which we are brought to God. Cherished emptiness gives God space in which to work. We are pure capacity for God. Let us not, then, take our littleness lightly. It is a wonderful grace. It is a gift to receive. At the same time, let us not get trapped in the confines of our littleness, but keep pushing on to claim our greatness. Remind yourself often, “I am pure capacity for God; I can be more.”
~Macrina Wiederkehr
Listen to video: -The Cracked Pot
Spiritual practice: Wabi-sabi is and ancient Japanese philosophy of finding beauty in imperfections. A Japanese practice that perhaps most exemplifies the spirit of wabi-sabi is kintsugi. Kintsugi is an ancient Japanese art of fixing cracked or broken pottery with a tree sap dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum rather than using a camouflaged adhesive. It is believed that by embracing the flaws and imperfections, one can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art. Perhaps wabi sabi can become a spiritual practice of conceiving the holy in places of pain, brokenness, and the ordinary if we open ourselves to it and pay attention.
Wabi-sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is a beauty of things modest and humble. It is a beauty of things unconventional.
~ Leonard Koren
Be attentive to beauty in the ordinary and imperfect. Receive (rather than "take") photographs or find images this week of objects that are imperfect, frail, broken or decaying. Or perhaps find an a broken pot and place a candle in it to let the light shine through the cracks. What is revealed to you through these images? Reflect on the sacred in places of imperfections or that which is not necessarily pleasing to the eye.
Reflect on what is ordinary, hidden or imperfect in your life or in the world that could be reinvented into something beautiful as was so beautifully illustrated in the story of "The Cracked Pot". Weiderkehr says that “crumbs are those small things that the world would toss aside, seeing little value in them. However, to the one who lives under the eye of God, they are far from valueless.” Look for the crumbs this week. Be present to the ordinary. Let the crumbs nourish your soul.
Feel free to share your findings by posting a photograph, image, or share what you experienced in reflecting on the concept of wabi sabi.
Song: Where the Light Comes Down - by Carrie Newcomer
Koren, L. (2008). Wabi-Sabi for artists, designers, poets and philosophers. Point Reyes, CA: Imperfect Publishing, p. 7
Paintner, C.V. (2013). Eyes of the heart. Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, pp. 54,55
Wiederkehr, M. (1990) A tree full of angels: Seeing the holy in the ordinary. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Love the image.
I wasn't going to share my lament from last week because it's long and personal, but it seemed to fit so beautifully with today's reflection. I love the way God keeps reaffirming truths He is teaching us.
Rescuer,
You know the pain I have felt of not quite measuring up. I carry it with me from childhood.
Wounds inflicted carelessly by other girls trying to be accepted themselves. Wounds inflicted by my own childish perception of what it means to be a person of worth. Wounds I have carried into adulthood…always feeling the need to measure up, yet without all the credentials the world uses to gauge the success of a person.
Wondering through my younger years why You made…
Thanks for sharing about wabi-sabi, Linda. It is one of my favorite ways to look at the world.
I have always loved tulips, but usually threw them away once they started to droop and lose their classic shape. But now I have come to love the particular richness of a tulip's final days - how it unfolds and opens, curling under, and exposing its awesome center. I'm sure some people might wonder why I keep them so long...