and I will tell you no lies…
The prompt for day 44 is “wabi sabi.” That has to do with impermanence. Things that are imperfect, incomplete or impermanent are beautiful. So, this shirt above. Let’s say it was stained. Or that its button were missing. It has become imperfect and incomplete. And you fix it by adding a button that obviously doesn’t match, but the button makes you happy because it’s star shaped. It’s changed and it has become different, sort of like the pot that broke and was fixed together with gold. It looks different and it is new in its difference.
And speaking about things that are imperfect. There were two jugs and an old man attached them to a yoke every day and put the yoke on his shoulders. He walked to the river to collect water. After he filled both jugs with water, he walked back to his house. One of the jugs, however, was cracked and it couldn’t maintain all of the water. It was inevitable that water would spill. Once the old man was back at his home, he observed that one jug was full and the other was half full. This happened day after day after day. The jug that leaked water was sad that it couldn’t carry all of the water for the man. The man knew that the jug was sad and he told the jug to watch the side of the road as they returned from collecting water. The jug did watch, and it saw that there were many beautiful flowers and that they looked very healthy.
“Yes, that’s right,” the old man said. “On the other side, there aren’t as many flowers. And that is because the water that you leaked as we walk back home is watering the gardens. Day after day, your imperfections have made the gardens beautiful and complete.”
Our imperfections and our incompleteness are part of us and, maybe, they make someone else better. Sometimes we know. And sometimes, it is left to our imaginations.
We are now halfway through the July 2023 version of the Ultimate Blogging Challenge, and today is the day that I get to ask you what you would like to ask me! Ask any question, and I will answer it in a future blog post! Ready? Set! Gooooooooooooooo!
The wisdom in the analogy of the cracked jug resonates deeply. We often strive for perfection, but it’s the acceptance of our flaws that truly makes us unique and sets us free.
And now for my question: “What inspired you to start blogging?”
What a beautiful post! I love that story of the jugs. My question – are you still planning a book with your bear, and if so, would you say more about that project?
Hi Alice,
Can you make the picture of that unique shirt a featured image on your blog so that is shows up on Twitter when I tweet your content?