Embrace Wabi-Sabi for a Healthy + Authentic Life

Sheri Davidson: 0:20

Hello friends, welcome to another episode of the wellness inspired podcast. I'm your host, Sheri Davidson. And I'm here with my sidekick and co host Ben Finn is my terrier mix rescue dog and I have not spent much time talking about him. But he is a part of this podcast, because he is a huge part of my life. And he has had a big impact on my health and wellness. I adopted him or he adopted me in 2012. So we have been together for a while and he does everything with me, including this podcast. Well, everything he can do with me. My favorite thing to do with him is trial run. It is a win win experience. He is so happy out there. He's running around with a big smile on his face. It just makes my heart happy when we're able to get out there together. Last weekend, we made it out to the trails with a friend and hopefully we'll get out there this weekend too. We have to take advantage of this cooler weather before it gets too hot, because it gets hot here in Texas. He's getting older and it's too much for him. So you will be hearing more about him throughout the podcast. In fact, I have invited my vet on to talk about pet wellness and in queue is an episode on the healing benefits of dogs. So I hope you join us. All right. If you missed the last episode, check it out. I had a great conversation with Issa Bauza. She is an Ironman certified coach, and a US ms swimming instructor, lifestyle coach and soon to be graduate with a master's in clinical mental health counseling. And Easter is on a mission to empower women through multi sports. In this episode, we talk about the benefits multisports can have on your physical and mental health. Check it out if you have not listened and let me know your thoughts. In the last episode I mentioned I was going to sit down with Kimberly Phipps nickel and talk about biophilic design. Unfortunately, we had to reschedule the recording for next week. So that episode is coming up and I am super excited about it. Our environment can have a huge impact on our health and wellness. Kimberly is a commercial interior designer and owns Houston Emporium, a boutique specializing in everything hemp, clothing, textiles, high quality CBD goods, it will be a great conversation. So please tune in. All right. That's it. Let's jump into our topic of the day embracing a wabi sabi lifestyle for wellness. I was talking to a friend on a run over the weekend. And I was saying how nice it has been generating content for this podcast, because I get to revisit my design years and the things that inspired me during that time period. And it has been super fun to take those inspirations and weave them into what I'm doing today in the health and wellness space. The crazy part is, is how well they relate. So today I want to talk about a wabi sabi lifestyle. I know wabi sabi what, if you've never heard of wabi sabi, it is the Japanese art of appreciating the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. It is a beautiful philosophy to practice daily for a happier, healthier and more authentic life. When I was brainstorming topics for this podcast, wabi sabi made it to the list without much thought. Initially, I felt it had everything to do with wellness, ourselves and our environment. However, I was not sure how to put it into words to inspire wellness here. When I sat down and started typing, I think it came together very nicely. So I hope you enjoyed this episode, and are inspired to live a wabi sabi lifestyle. When I was in design school, I had a love for Japanese wooden houses, aesthetically, conceptually and philosophically, and I still do an appreciation of these homes. I came across the book, wabi sabi for artists, designers, poets, and philosophers by Leonardo Karan. And I'll put that in the show notes. Japanese wooden houses and this book inspired a lot of my work and school and my life, and it still does. I would look at pictures of these beautiful homes and feel at peace and connected. It was a place I wanted to be. They were simple, elegant, natural, minimal and clean. And the wabi sabi philosophy was the foundation that gave these homes and the people that live their strength and purpose structures were made of wood. There were no hammers and nails during that time period. But they did have high quality craftsmanship with precision. Japanese carpenters built complex wouldn't joints that fit perfectly together, providing the structure for their homes. These houses had a strong connection to nature and were built as part of the natural environment. And the design concept. They invited the outside in and vice versa. There were so Gee sliding walls that open up to a view of a colorful, serene courtyard with a sculpture or maybe a quiet peaceful mountain range. And there was a natural flow inside and out. Japanese wooden homes were intimate and personal, unpretentious, humble and earthy. They use natural materials like wood, to Tommy mat, flooring, and rice paper. The colors were warm, inviting with a lot of natural light. They lived within the seasons of winter, spring and fall, and one piece of artwork in the space, and that piece of artwork would change to reflect the season they were in. But here's something interesting about these beautiful homes. They were not built to last. The Japanese lived in a harsh environment. They experienced volcanic eruptions, fires typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes, they had to find a solution. And they didn't trust nature, but they did find truth and learn from nature. What did they learn? On observation they learned all things are impermanent, all things are imperfect, and all things are incomplete. The response was, rather than controlling and resisting nature, they adapted to nature. They built their homes to work with the unpredictability of the natural world. If Mother Nature came roaring through destroying their homes, they simply would rebuild their homes and their lives. You see, Japanese wooden houses were not made to last because all things are impermanent and perfect and incomplete. The houses were made to rebuild. It was the wabi sabi mindset that allowed them to endure, rebuild and be happy. They found beauty, and all things and perfect and permanent and incomplete, making the Japanese wooden house a perfect story of wabi sabi. So I'd like to share a quote with you from a book. The book is The wabi sabi house by Robin Griggs learns she says it very well, and this is what she says pared down to its barest essence, wabi sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in the imperfection, and profundity and nature of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay and death. It is simple, slow and uncluttered, and revered authenticity above all. wabi sabi is flea markets, not warehouse stores, aged wood, not Pargo, rice paper, not glass, it celebrates cracks, crevices, and all other marks of time whether and loving uses leave behind. It reminds us that we are all but transient beings on this planet. Our bodies as well as the material world around us are in the process of returning to the dust from with a cane. Through wabi sabi, we learn to embrace liver spots, rust and frayed edges and the march of time they represent. I love this. So let's unpack wabi sabi. Wabi is a way of life, a spiritual path. It is finding beauty and humble simplicity. It invites us to open our hearts and detach from the vanity of materialism. So we can experience spiritual richness. Sabe is a passage of time and accepting the natural cycle of growth, age, decay, and death, and how it manifests itself beautifully in people and things together. This creates a beautiful, philosophical approach to life, not just your built environment, and trust me, it's one worth adopting into your daily life. Why? Well, let's talk about that. And let's be honest, we live in a high stress fast paced world. We are taught to sleep less and grind more. I mean, think about this. The 40 hour workweek is history. Technology has given us the ability to communicate 24/7 and the logged on workforce is now working 60 to 80 hours a week. How can we sustain this? There are social pressures. We are constantly pursuing perfection and things. Were never good enough. We never have enough. We're never beautiful skinny are fit enough. We're just not enough. And then there are macro stressors and pressures the future of our nation, the pandemic political unrest and the political climate. As a result with anxiety, depression and addiction is soaring. When do we stop and say, Okay, that's enough. I don't have all the answers, but I know where to start. And the best place to start is with you. So here are some things you can do to start living a wabi sabi lifestyle, for a happier and more authentic life. Number one, slow down and stay in the present moment. Now, I'm not a belief that we have to spend all of our time in the present moment. Our brain is amazing. And we have the ability to go to the past, to learn, and to project to the future, so we know where to go. But weaving presence into your daily life can help you cultivate awareness, which I believe is key to any change. If you don't have awareness of what's happening in your life, how can you change anything? How can you test and measure to see what's working and what's not working? By slowing down and grounding yourself in the present moment, you are cultivating the awareness, you need to make positive change. Sometimes you become aware of something in your situation you don't like, that's okay. Remember, we're not perfect. But if it's too overwhelming, and you still want to do the work, please reach out to a professional, a family or friend, I'm sure they'd be happy to help. Another reason to slow down and stay in the present moment is, we are so busy running around with long to do lists, and packed schedules, while life is passing us by then we wake up one day and wonder where all the time has gone. I think we can all agree that life slowed down a lot during the pandemic. And there was a lot of talk about the benefits of reduced schedules, and the reduced to do lists. But now things are ramping back up. So what do we do? I'm conflicted. There are so many things I want to accomplish, and so many people I value hanging out with, but many times it feels like I don't have enough time, and that my life is rushing by. And I have to say I am grateful. I have meaningful work hobbies, family and friends. I love it all. So the question is, how can I better manage my day to slow down and be more present? Well, I try to minimize my schedule and activities, to focus only what's most important to me. Also, I found staying out of my head and engaged in what I'm doing throughout my day can slow things down. Because I'm not off to the next thing while I'm doing the present activity. So I find this helps me a lot. You might have to do some self discovery. To see what works for you, you can give this a shot. Maybe it'll work for you too. Another thing you can do is to simplify your life, we have so many things we don't need weighing us down. Get rid of what you don't need. Declutter your space and toxic relationships, and get rid of bad habits, unnecessary to dues, useless expenses, and unhealthy behaviors. Do the work, discover what really matters to you and concentrate on that and let the rest go. You'll feel happy and more live if you can be content with less. Number three, accept the inevitable and accept what is in your life. You'll find freedom and growth by doing this. When you accept all the good and bad things life throws at you. Whether in your control or out of your control, you will find freedom and acceptance. And if you choose an opportunity for growth, from your wins, challenges and struggles. We all just had a big lesson and accepting what is during COVID There are many days I would sit at home or at the clinic thinking okay, this is where you are. This is out of your control. So how can you learn and move forward from where you are right now? I can't tell you how many times I had that conversation with myself. And I must say some really great ideas and actions came from that question like this podcast. Okay. Number four. Remember, nothing is perfect or complete. Many people are perfectionist today. But think about it. Do you really want to be perfect? To be perfect is to be complete. And you are never complete. The universe is not complete. It is in a never ending state of becoming and dissolving. If you want to be perfect, you're chasing unrealistic goals. You will never get there because you are always changing and growing to if you want to be perfect. You're a dog chasing its tail. Also to be perfect. Your life would be complete. Nothing else to do here. Growth is what keeps us moving forward. If you are complete growth stops. Sorry, not me. I have too many things I want to do and accomplish and experience here. So let go of perfection and accept yourself just as you are and where you are in Your Life. And this brings us to number five. Appreciate the natural cycle of life. Everything is impermanent, we are transient beings. So appreciate and enjoy all stages of life. And let us remind you to use your time wisely. find beauty in every day and allow yourself to grow and to be moved by the beauty and feel gratitude. You know, I just had a milestone birthday. And talking about this could not be more timely. I have never been an age person or bothered by my age. In fact, I usually celebrate the whole month of March. But this year was a little bit different for me. Don't get me wrong, I had an amazing birthday, I did celebrate, I celebrated a lot and it was one of the best birthdays and I'm so grateful for the birthday dinners, the cards, the flowers, the Happy Birthday Wishes wouldn't change a thing. However, it was a milestone birthday. And it nudged me to reflect on my life. And I have an amazing life. It's not perfect, complete, but it's really good. My life is simple and uncomplicated in part due to design. However, it's not anything I imagined in my 20s. But that's okay. It's been fun to look back and see my journey, my decisions and how I got to where I am today. But I think the hardest part for me getting older is the changes in my body. I'm an athlete, I perform differently, and my body is changing. And it's hard. You question things like how much longer can I keep running? So this year, I had to sit down and have a heart to heart talk with myself. You know, part of my vision is having a long life, growing old gracefully with Vitality. And if I want to do this, I have to accept getting older. It's part of the natural process, and it's inevitable. So I have to accept and find the beauty in what is continue to grow and by all means keep running, because all is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. I think this is a good place to wrap it up. So I'll leave you with a quote out of Beth Compton's book, wabi sabi, Japanese wisdom for a perfect imperfect life. Put simply, wabi sabi gives you permission to be yourself. It encourages you to do your best, but not make yourself ill in pursuit of an unattainable goal of perfection. It gently motions you to relax, slow down, and enjoy your life. And it shows you that beauty can be found in the most unlikely of places, making every day a doorway of the light. So what did you guys think? wabi sabi is not just a design concept for artists, designers, poets and philosophers. It's for all of us. It's a philosophy, a spiritual path, a way of life. We can design our lives and built environments and wabi sabi style. So discover was true to you to embrace wabi sabi for a healthier and more authentic life. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please let me know your thoughts. And if you like what you hear, please subscribe to the podcast, and share with your family and friends. You can also give me a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcast, it helps others find me as well. To get updates on the new episodes and wellness inspiration in your inbox. Please join the wellness inspired community. Go to the wellness inspired podcast.com to sign up. I'll put the link to the website in the show notes. So you can just click in and sign up. Also, there is a Facebook community at the Wellness inspired and you can follow me on Instagram at wellness inspired. If you are in the Houston area or visiting and interested in acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping and dry needling therapy, contact us. You can find out more on our website at element five oh m.com. That's element, the number five oh m.com. And again, I'll put the link in the show notes. If you're interested in health and wellness coaching. We can connect in the clinic or on Zoom, reach out and we'll get you scheduled. And as always, I would love to hear your feedback. I am dedicated to bringing you great content that is inspiring and informative with an artsy fun and edgy spin. Thank you so much for listening. We'll meet again here next time. And remember, never stop exploring, learning loving and being you bye