I have a beautiful coffee table book called Perfectly Imperfect, which is about 'the beauty of accident, age & patina'. The authors Karen McCartney, Sharyn Cairns & Glen Proebstel have been inspired by the concept of Wabi Sabi, described as 'things which often appear odd, misshapen, awkward, or what many people may consider ugly.' (Leonard Koren).
I love this idea. Holding on to things which bring you joy because they hold a special memory, or their shape/texture evokes something within you. I've got a few things like this which I know my children will fight over when I'm not here. Like my grannie's hand whisk, an old wooden stool, a pattern marker and a crackled pot, to name a few.
These things have charm and character. They are pleasing to look at and touch. They might not be perfect for their purpose, but they hold so much value at the same time. I'm by no means a hoarder. Far from it. I love the Marie Kondo concept, if you don't find it useful or beautiful - let things go.
I've been looking at jumping in yoga practice this week - which it has to be said I've tried to ignore for some time. You could definitely say 'odd, misshapen, awkward, or what many people may consider ugly' about me practising this again! But you've got to start or restart somewhere?
I remembered one of my favourite teachers, Denise Christian, saying you need to learn to love the things you hate. We tend to gravitate towards things which we can do more easily, our ego takes us there. Denise is now here if you're interested.
So, out of my comfort zone again and jumping. It has significant benefits. Building strength, bone density, heat in the body, as well as keeping yourself motivated and challenged. Being fully present to the practice of yoga. I often feel it's good to put ego and expectations to one side and have a go. Even if it's messy. It's 'Imperfectly Perfect', as at the end of the day there is no such thing as 'The Perfect Pose'. We're having a go, being open minded, present, focused and that's as much as we can hope for.
So my jumping is most definitely 'Imperfectly Perfect', if you want to see some further beautiful demonstrations maybe check these tutorials out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Q7f_YSYSk&t=2030s
(you might have to copy and paste this link) and
I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and have a go with whatever you're up to this weekend.
Namaste.
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