Wabi-Sabi Protocol

Wabi-sabi is a Japanese worldview rooted in Zen Buddhism. It's about finding beauty in imperfection, accepting life on life's terms, feeling the feels, and even confronting death in the sense that it grapples with impermanence. Heavy stuff you might think, but it can actually lighten the load considerably.

"Wabi" points to simplicity and humility while "Sabi" can literally mean lonely or rust but in this context refers to the beauty that comes with time and use, giving things character. Together they form a philosophy that reveres age and cultivates wisdom while eschewing perfectionism, the enemy of good. It's not about lowering quality. It's about raising your tolerance for things being a little unfinished—and still useful.

Finished things can help people. Perfect ideas stuck in your notes app cannot. If something is good enough to be shared, it's good enough to ship. Seams and scratches build trust and lower the stakes allowing us to relax a bit. People don't connect to polish as much as they connect to process.

Move at the speed of usefulness. Let feedback and time do the refining. Take the work seriously. Don't take yourself so seriously. Life isn't a museum. It's a workshop. Imperfect. Temporary. In progress.

There's admittedly some irony in thinking of Wabi-Sabi as a "Protocol" and not just a philosophy as it implies something technical or procedural. We have a fair bit of "programming" to be undone in our society however, so perhaps adapting it to our more logical, mechanical thinking is apropos for now.

So often we get down on ourselves or lament feelings of loneliness. When reflection turns negative, or if we feel like we are broken, let's turn to Kintsugi, one manifestation of Wabi-Sabi in practice. The vase pictured shows a vessel that once shattered into pieces. Kintsugi takes the shards and reassembles them with gold lacquer, arguably making something more beautiful in the process. We are all in various seasons of life, some with a few more chips than others. But that common thread of being a work-in-progress gives us our humanity and reminds us to give ourselves and one another grace – that awareness can be what carries us through, helping us cope with fear and ultimately, mortality.

This inaugural edition of Psst Notes, a micro-zine, is an example of Wabi-Sabi in action as it is by definition so brief it can only be deemed incomplete, lacking the depth required to unpack such a heady concept. Nevertheless, out into the world it must go. Fortunately, the story lives on in the companion website where you can actually "talk to the zine" online and dig into Wabi-Sabi further on your terms, truly internalizing it.

We encourage you to pass this micro-zine along to a friend or stranger after jotting down how you might apply Wabi-Sabi in your life on a sticky note below and place it in/on the zine. Thank you for reading, much love, over and outtie. – Kinchasa