Wabi-sabi: The magnificence of imperfection: Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica

TEDx Talks
20 Mar 201314:19

Summary

TLDRこのスクリプトは、人間の共通の経験と困難な状況を乗り越える力について語る心温まる物語です。話者は、コロラドのリモートな馬場で育ち、文明を求めてモデルとしてヨーロッパへ旅立った経験から始まります。しかし、フランスでの暗い出来事から復讐を企んでいた彼女は、日本での生活と「侘寂(Wabi Sabi)」という日本美学に出会い、自分の欠点を美しさと受け止めることを学びます。彼女の旅は、内面的な成長と自己認識の変化を通じて、美しさと完璧さの対比から学んだ教訓を通して、聴衆にその美しさを自覚し、受け入れることの大切さを伝えます。

Takeaways

  • 🌄 人生経験は共通性を持っている。困難な状況を乗り越えることで人々は結びつき、共感し合うことができる。
  • 🏞️ 遠く離れたコロラドの山岳地帯で育った話者が、文明と文化を求めて都市に向かった背景について。
  • 🎨 ファッション誌を通じてモデルになる夢を持つ。ヨーロッパへ旅立ち、モデルとしてキャリアをスタートさせたエピソード。
  • 🕊️ モデルとして働くことで、深い会話が求められない環境に適応し、孤独を感じる自分に合った職種を見つける。
  • 🌐 モデル業界における「草は隣のほうが青い」という現象。常に別の場所がより良いとされ、移動する生活。
  • 🗼 日本での経験が話者を次の段階へと導く。日本での生活と祖父と祖母との出会いが重要な影響を与える。
  • 🪵 「侘寂(Wabi Sabi)」という日本の美学を学ぶ。物体の美しさはその欠陥に存在するとの考え方。
  • 🧐 欠陥や不完全さを美とすることの重要性。完全な完璧さとそれに伴う欠陥のバランスが美しさの鍵とされる。
  • 🤔 自分自身に「侘寂」が適用できるかどうかを疑問に思う。過去のトラウマと向き合い、それを受け入れることの重要性。
  • 😔 誤解と混乱から起こる衝突と、それを乗り越えることの大切さ。他人の苦しみを理解し、共感する力を持つことの必要性。
  • 🌟 自分の美しさと価値を認め、受け入れることの大切さ。侘寂の美学を通じて、自己肯定感と自己愛を高めるメッセージ。

Q & A

  • スクリプトの主人公は何を経験しましたか?

    -主人公はコロラドの高地に住む馬牧場で育ち、文明を求めて欧州に行きました。そこでモデルになりたいと決心し、カメラを首にかかっている男に誘われ、その後、薬物で昏睡させられ、暴力を加えられました。

  • 主人公が欧州での出来事についてどのように感じていますか?

    -主人公は自分が汚され、汚れてしまったと感じており、誰にも話すことができませんでした。その出来事を押し込めて孤独になり、距離を置いた生活を送りました。

  • 主人公はどのようにしてモデルになりましたか?

    -主人公は自分の人生の計画を立て、友人Lizzyと共に貯金をして欧州へ行きました。そこでモデルになるチャンスを掴み、その後モデルとして活躍しました。

  • モデルとして働くことで主人公は何を感じたと思いますか?

    -モデルとして働くことで、主人公は深い会話を求められることなく、自分に合った場所を見つけたと感じていたようです。

  • 主人公が日本で出会った「侘寂(Wabi Sabi)」とは何ですか?

    -「侘寂(Wabi Sabi)」とは、日本の美学の一つで、物の美しさはその欠陥や傷、不完全さに存在すると考える考え方です。

  • 「侘寂」が主人公に与える影響とは何ですか?

    -「侘寂」は主人公にとって、自分の欠点を美しさと受け止め、自己肯定感を持つための鍵となりました。

  • スクリプトで主人公が経験した「戦争」とは何かを教えてください。

    -スクリプトにおける「戦争」は、実際には主人公が戦争に関与しているわけではなく、誤解された日本の女性から問われたものです。

  • 主人公が日本で出会った女性から何を学びましたか?

    -主人公は日本の女性から、彼女の孤独と怒り、そして混乱を認識し、それらを自分自身の感情と共感しました。

  • 主人公が「侘寂」を理解した瞬間に何を感じたと思いますか?

    -主人公は「侘寂」を理解した瞬間に、自分の欠点や傷跡を美と感じることができ、受け入れることで自己肯定感を得たと思われます。

  • スクリプトの最後に主人公はどのように述べていますか?

    -スクリプトの最後に、主人公は自分の美しさと素晴らしい点を認め、他の人にもその美しさを認めてほしいと願っています。

  • このスクリプト全体を通して主人公が伝えたいメッセージは何ですか?

    -主人公は、人々の欠点や傷跡を美と感じることの大切さを伝えており、それが個人の自己肯定感につながると示唆しています。

Outlines

00:00

🌄 山岳の子どもからの脱出

スクリプトの第1段落では、話者がコロラド州のリモートなロックリー地域で育った馬場での幼少期を振り返ります。自然に囲まれた美しい環境に育ったにもかかわらず、都市文化を求めて脱出を決意します。ファッション誌を参考にしてモデルになることを目標に、友人Lizzyとヨーロッパへ旅立ちます。しかし、フランスでの初日から騙され、暴力と性暴力を受ける悲劇的な出来事に遭遇します。

05:03

🌆 モデルとしてのキャリアと孤独

第2段落では、話者はモデルとしてキャリアを築き上げたものの、過去のトラウマから人々との距離を保ち、孤独を感じる日々を過ごしました。モデル業界での経験を通じて、自分の価値観と他人との関係を見つめ直すことになります。日本での経験では、会社オーナーの祖父母との出会いが、彼女の価値観に大きな影響を与えることになります。彼らが語る「侘び寂び」の美学が、彼女の心に深く刻まれます。

10:05

🎭 侘び寂びの美学と自己認識の変容

第3段落では、話者が日本で出会った「侘び寂び」という美学を通じて、自己認識を変容し始めた過程が描かれています。彼女は、自分の過去のトラウマと不完全さを美と受け止め、受け入れる力を持つようになります。さらに、誤解と衝突が生じる場面での経験から、他人の苦痛と孤独を理解し、共感する力を持つようになります。最後に、彼女は自分の美しさと価値を肯定し、聴衆にその価値を自覚し、主張するよう励まします。

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Wabi Sabi

「侘寂」とは、日本独自の美学概念です。その美しさは、物の欠陥や不完全さに存在するとされています。ビデオでは、主人公が自分の過去のトラウマと向き合い、侘寂の価値観を通じて自己肯定感を得るプロセスが描かれています。例えば、主人公が日本の祖父母から侘寂について学び、その後の出来事でその概念を実感する場面が示されています。

💡トラウマ

「トラウマ」とは、心的外傷として深く心に刻まれる出来事を指します。ビデオでは、主人公がフランスで経験した暴力的な出来事がそのトラウマとして描写され、その後の生活や自己イメージに大きな影響を与える要因となっています。

💡自己肯定感

「自己肯定感」とは、自分自身を肯定し、価値のある存在であると感じる心理的な状態です。ビデオのテーマの一つであり、主人公が侘寂の美学を受け入れて自己肯定感を回復する過程が重要なストーリーです。

💡モデル

「モデル」は、ファッション業界などで商品やファッションショーを宣伝するために雇われる人々を指します。主人公がモデルになり、その経験が彼女の自己認識と自信に影響を与える重要な要素となっています。

💡孤独

「孤独」は、他人から孤立し、心的孤立を感じる状態です。ビデオでは、主人公がトラウマの後、孤独感を感じることで人とのつながりを失い、侘寂の概念を通じて孤独感から抜け出すプロセスが描かれています。

💡文化

「文化」とは、ある集団が持つ共有された価値観、習慣、信仰などの総体です。ビデオでは、主人公が文化への憧れからヨーロッパへ旅立ち、さまざまな文化体験を通じて成長する物語が展開されています。

💡自己認識

「自己認識」とは、自分自身を理解し、評価する能力です。ビデオでは、主人公が自分の過去と向き合い、侘寂の美学を通じて自己認識を刷新する過程が重要なテーマとなっています。

💡美学

「美学」とは、美しさや美について研究する学問です。ビデオでは、日本の美学「侘寂」が重要な役割を果たし、主人公が美しさと欠陥の関係を理解し、自己肯定感を高める契機となっています。

💡対比

「対比」とは、物事同士を比較し、その違いを強調する表現技法です。ビデオでは、侘寂の概念が対比を通じて美しさと欠陥を組み合わせることで、主人公が自己の欠点を肯定する助けとなる要素となっています。

💡自己表現

「自己表現」とは、自分自身の感情や思考を外部に表現する行為です。ビデオでは、主人公が自己表現を通じて内面の葛藤を打ち明け、侘寂の美学を受け入れ自己肯定感を高めるプロセスが描かれています。

Highlights

The shared human experience of going through bad circumstances unites us and helps us relate to each other.

The speaker grew up on a remote horse ranch in Colorado but longed for civilization and culture.

At age 15, the speaker ran away to pursue a modeling career in Europe, inspired by a Glamour magazine.

Upon arriving in France, the speaker was drugged, kidnapped, beaten, raped and left for dead by men posing as photographers.

The trauma led the speaker to ask 'Why?' questions and feel isolated and unable to share their experience.

Despite the trauma, the speaker did become a successful model and found solace in the superficiality of the profession.

While in Japan for a modeling job, the speaker learned about the concept of Wabi Sabi from the agency owners' grandparents.

Wabi Sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in the flaws, imperfections and damage of objects.

The speaker began to wonder if Wabi Sabi could apply to them and their own perceived flaws and damage.

An encounter with an angry Japanese woman accusing the speaker of killing her parents led to a moment of realization.

The speaker saw their own pain and isolation reflected in the woman's eyes and connected with her on a deep level.

The speaker apologized to the woman and said 'Wabi Sabi', acknowledging their shared imperfections and humanity.

The audience bowed in respect and the speaker felt a sense of acceptance and belonging.

The speaker realized they didn't need to stay in Japan to embrace Wabi Sabi - it was a mindset they could carry with them.

The speaker's message is that everyone is magnificent in their own unique way, with their perceived flaws adding to their beauty.

The speaker encourages the audience to recognize their own beauty and magnificence, and to claim their own Wabi Sabi.

Transcripts

play00:00

Transcriber: Mark Freehoff Reviewer: Capa Girl

play00:03

There are experiences that we share.

play00:08

Things that we all go through by virtue of being human.

play00:13

They unite us, these experiences that we share,

play00:17

and perhaps none unite us more so than,

play00:21

the experience of going through -- bad circumstances,

play00:25

having difficult things happen in life.

play00:29

Sometimes when those circumstances happen

play00:32

our only recourse is to ask, " Why? Why me?"

play00:38

as we try to make sense of life.

play00:43

I think the reason that those circumstances unite us

play00:47

like nothing else can, is because we can all relate.

play00:52

At some point, at some time, we will all have those kinds

play00:58

of occurrences. I am no exception.

play01:02

When I was a kid, I had to get out.

play01:04

I grew up on a horse ranch in the remote Rockies of Colorado

play01:08

and we lived high atop a mountain meadow and in every

play01:13

single direction, except one, miles away in the distance,

play01:17

there was no sign of civilization whatsoever.

play01:21

I loved it, it was idyllic,

play01:24

I spent my childhood atop a horse, but I, I had to get out,

play01:28

I longed for civilization, for culture. I longed to wear

play01:33

the clothes that I saw in magazines.

play01:35

Anything other than boot cut Wranglers really. (Laughter)

play01:40

And -- I longed to go somewhere, where there were

play01:45

people and meet them and and see them or know them.

play01:51

Any people that I wasn't related to by blood --

play01:55

(Laughter)

play01:57

The city was just calling my name and I had to figure out how to respond.

play02:00

One day I played "Hookie"

play02:03

to come up with the master plan, I hopped on my mini-bike

play02:07

and rode the hour and fifteen minutes to

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Colorado City, it was the nearest town that had a store.

play02:15

I picked up a Glamour magazine, as my guide book

play02:19

and sure enough, right there in the pages,

play02:23

was the plan for my life, clear as day.

play02:27

I could be a model, I was tall enough, I mean I was

play02:30

already on the Boys Basketball Team.

play02:33

I just needed to get someplace where they needed models.

play02:39

Uuhh, I chose Europe. Talked my friend Lizzy into going,

play02:45

we both got a couple of jobs. We saved up.

play02:50

The big day finally arrived. Now no sooner did we land

play02:56

in France than a man wearing a camera around his neck

play03:01

approached me. He asked me if I was a model.

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Told me he could make me one if I were to just go off

play03:07

with him and his friend standing over there.

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That is how easy it is to become a model in France!

play03:15

Lizzy said, "No way in hell!" Ah, but Lizzy didn't know

play03:20

anything about my master plan. So -- I just ditched her,

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went off for the guy with the camera and his friend --

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They drugged me. They took me to an abandoned

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construction sight and beat me mercilessly.

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I had no idea I had -- made a sound when kicked.

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They drugged me again and raped me repeatedly.

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And they cut me. I had one action available to me

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which was just to look away.

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I craned my head as far as I could

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to the right and just stared at the wall. There was a --

play04:02

dancing -- spot of light on the wall. It must have been a

play04:08

reflection from something outside and it was free,

play04:11

whatever it was. I stared at the little spot of light with

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all my might and the harder I stared the more I -- became

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the spot of light. I wasn't the scrap heap of a girl,

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being torn to shreds, I was just a dancing, little sparkling,

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shimmer of light, that could fly away at any time I chose --

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They dumped me in a parking mist three days later.

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It was then that the "Why" questions really set in.

play04:47

"Why did I have to come here?"

play04:50

"Why can't I just be happy staying at home like everybody else?"

play04:55

"Why did God let this happen to me?"

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I didn't tell anybody, I couldn't tell anybody.

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I was now disgusting and dirty and filthy and ruined and used up

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and if I told anybody, if anybody new what had happened to me,

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they would know those things so -- I didn't speak.

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To anyone. I just pushed it all down.

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I became very, very aloof and removed and -- was a loner.

play05:35

I eventually did become a model.

play05:38

The profession suited me really well.

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Never once in all of the years that I was a model,

play05:43

did anyone ask me to have a deep conversation.

play05:45

I had found my people! (Laughter)

play05:50

The phenomenon of "the grass is always greener"

play05:53

is alive and thriving in the modeling world.

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Wherever I would go, they would,

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within a short period of time, wanna send me someplace else,

play06:00

because wherever we weren't was looked at

play06:02

as infinitely cooler than wherever we were.

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Paris sent me to New York, Milan to Paris,

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London to Japan. It was in Japan that the next stage of

play06:14

my journey unfolded. With the exception of the time

play06:17

I was actually shooting, I spent the entirety of my journey

play06:20

in Japan, in the agency itself.

play06:23

They had a massive, completely unused, conference room.

play06:27

Nobody was ever there except the grandparents

play06:30

of the owners of the agency.

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They have this fabulous tradition in Japan.

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They include their elders in their business lives

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and personal lives. They're looked upon as a resource for

play06:45

the wealth of information and knowledge that they bring.

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What a concept. I was in the conference room one day,

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just -- frankly I was absentmindedly day dreaming about

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how to plot my revenge against the men from France

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but I was in there pretending to read a book

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and daydreaming and I was sitting at this big, wooden,

play07:06

conference table they had in there.

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This thing was probably ten feet long.

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It was, carved out of one solid piece of wood.

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It was beautiful but it had massive

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dents and nicks and duvets and it was narrow at one

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end as if -- it just that is where the tree narrowed.

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I was sitting there, absentmindedly, running my fingers

play07:30

over one of the holes in the wood when the grandmother

play07:34

walked in and stared at me, She said, "Ahh, Wabi Sabi!"

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She shocked me out of my stupor. "What's that?"

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"Wabi Saa? Is that like Wasabi?"

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From the other room, Myoko, my agent, cups her hand

play07:53

over the phone and laughs. "Nooo", she said.

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I turned back to the grandmother,

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"I'm sorry, Wabi Sabi, is that like a desk or conference table? Wood?"

play08:05

From the other room Myoko chimed in again. She said,

play08:09

"No, no, no hon, Wabi Sabi is the Japanese aesthetic."

play08:14

"Oohhh", I said, completely confused.

play08:19

Within a few moments, Myoko walked in the room,

play08:22

along with her grandfather and then the three of them took turns telling me

play08:27

their version of what Wabi Sabi means.

play08:30

According to the grandfather,

play08:32

Wabi Sabi is the most essential of all Japanese principles.

play08:37

Wabi Sabi states that the beauty of

play08:39

any object lies in the flaws of that object.

play08:45

Things such as mistakes and damages, or -- ruined parts,

play08:56

those are actually designed in.

play08:59

The grandmother said that beauty is a study in contrasts,

play09:03

so something can only be seen to embody perfection,

play09:06

if it also embodies a correlate degree of imperfection.

play09:11

These people were blowing my mind.

play09:15

I had to get out of there. I gathered up all my junk

play09:18

and went for a walk.

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I wondered --

play09:24

"Did this mean that Wabi Sabi could even apply to me?"

play09:31

Naagh. I kept walking.

play09:35

Went to a outdoor cafe, grabbed my lunch at the counter,

play09:39

went and sat down at a table and started to read.

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Within a few moments I heard shouting.

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I looked up and saw disheveled looking woman,

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who appeared to be shouting at me and she was screaming,

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"Naze sensô Nihon! Naze sensô Nihon!"

play10:02

I fidgeted and looked around, certain I was completely

play10:04

mistaken but there was no denying it,

play10:07

she was delivering her words to me!

play10:10

A man at the table next to me leaned in and said,

play10:12

"She asked why, why you make war on Japan?"

play10:18

(Laughter)

play10:24

"I don't make war on Japan, I am a teenager!

play10:28

Make war on Japan, who do you think I am,

play10:30

some sixty year old dude in a army uniform!

play10:33

I am not, I am not the president, I am a teenager.

play10:37

I don't like war any way!" I put my face back

play10:40

in my book and tried to pretend it wasn't happening,

play10:45

the woman continued, "Naze! Sensô Nihon! Sensô Nihon!"

play10:51

She removed a cloth envelope from one of her bags, and carefully unfolded it.

play10:58

The cloth envelope contained two photographs.

play11:02

They were both black and white, tattered and yellow.

play11:06

One was a man, the other was a woman.

play11:10

She clasped the photos and held them above her head.

play11:13

She started to cry now.

play11:17

Now there was no ignoring her. I looked up.

play11:20

Every eye in the place was upon us.

play11:23

The woman with the photos above her head

play11:25

and me the only Westerner.

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She continued screaming and crying.

play11:30

The man at the table next to me leaned in again,

play11:33

this time he said,"She ask Why? Why you kill her parents?"

play11:40

Oh now this was getting out of hand.

play11:43

"Kill her parents" This woman is crazy, that's all there is to it.

play11:46

I slammed my book together, started throwing my stuff in my bag.

play11:48

Look at her! Nose running down her face,

play11:52

snot bubbling up over her mouth when she speaks,

play11:55

look at those crazy, eyes --

play11:59

Then I accidentally caught her glance.

play12:04

As I did I saw the -- confusion --

play12:11

and the frustration, and the anger, and the rage,

play12:15

and the fury and her complete inability to express any of it.

play12:25

I saw the deep, dark, pit of her aloneness

play12:30

and I no longer saw a crazy woman.

play12:36

I saw me.

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I placed my belongings on the table and I bowed to the women.

play12:47

She stopped crying, she stopped screaming,

play12:50

she became silent.

play12:53

When finally I looked up,

play12:57

I said the only two words that made any sense.

play13:01

"Wabi Sabi".

play13:03

(Laughter)

play13:08

I reverently collected my belongings, stood ---

play13:13

and bowed.

play13:16

Everyone, young and old alike, bowed back.

play13:23

I used to pray that Wabi Sabi was real

play13:26

and that somehow, some way, it could apply to me.

play13:32

For a time I was convinced that in order to be anything other than damaged,

play13:36

I would have to spend the rest of my life in Japan.

play13:40

(Laughter)

play13:42

Now I know differently.

play13:45

You are magnificent.

play13:49

And what makes you magnificent

play13:51

is everything you've previously believed is wrong with you.

play13:59

I leave you with my deepest wish,

play14:02

that you recognize your beauty,

play14:05

that you know your magnificence,

play14:09

that you claim your Wabi Sabi!

play14:13

(Applause)

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人生困難自己発見美の探求経験共有文化差異モデル業界精神的苦しみ日本美学ワビサビ自己肯定
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