Wabi-Sabi
Embracing imperfection on highways and trails.
September, 2023
Our 10-day, 3,500-mile camping and running road trip across the American West was drawing to a close when I learned that the kanji on the back of the Mammoth 50k finisher's medal translates roughly to "wabi-sabi."
My view of the trip, begun a week earlier at the Pikes Peak Ascent, was crystalized.
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic concept that expresses appreciation of imperfections. It's embodied in crafts like kintsugi, whose practitioners repair broken objects in a manner that emphasizes, rather than hides flaws.
How fitting.
As runners, we do hard things to crack ourselves open and have a look at what's inside. We lean into discomfort and seek situations with no hiding places. So that we're not tempted to reach for perfection, we deliberately break ourselves.
Why?
Because we understand there is beauty and strength in the repair.
Running Lightly is building a community interested in the soul beneath the surface of the sport.
This is awesome, I can definitely relate to this. I ran my first marathon last month and understand now what you mean by ‘cracking yourself open’. It’s so easy to put on a mask in day-to-day life yet in times of prolonged physical struggle you truly find out who you are. It’s like meeting yourself.
What for you have been the main lessons from your running trip / running in general?