Japanese cherry blossoms last only 7 to 10 days.
Every spring, millions of people stop what they’re doing — stop working, stop rushing, stop planning — and sit under a cherry blossom tree.
Not to photograph it. Not to check it off a list.
Just to watch it while it’s there. To admire their delicacy and witness their short-lived journey while it lasts.
They call it hanami: a Japanese custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers. The whole point is that the flowers won’t stay, so you’d better be present for them right now.
The concept of mono no aware and its connection to slow living
As expected, it’s more to hanami than it seems. We all know the Japanese people are often considered among the wisest in the world – a reputation rooted in Zen Buddhism, Shintoism, and Samurai philosophy. Concepts such as Ikigai, Wabi-Sabi, and Kaizen have already travelled the world, but what about mono no aware?
Behind hanami there’s an old Japanese concept that has nothing to do with flowers and everything to do with how you live.
Mono no aware means the gentle awareness that nothing lasts and that this is exactly what makes things worth paying attention to.
An emotional response to the beauty and fleeting nature of life, mono no aware teaches an appreciation for the moment. A dying sunset, a heavy snowfall, tree colors in autumn or a warm, summer rain are all things that fade away way too quickly.
Here are the three things mono no aware quietly teaches and can change your perspective on living slowly:
- Beauty doesn’t wait for you to be ready for it. The blossoms fall whether you notice it or not.
- The ordinary moment in front of you is the one worth being in. Not the next one. Not a better version of this one. This one.
- Slowing down isn’t something you do when life gets easier. It’s something you practise now, in the middle of the full, complicated, beautiful life you already have.
Simple as it may sound, I believe it’s a principle that can help us slow down more often.
We spend most of our days moving through our lives rather than being in them — half-present at dinner, already thinking about tomorrow during today, waiting for a quieter season to finally slow down.
While “I don’t have time” is the most used phrase in our daily lives, the Japanese culture encourages us, through mono no aware, to switch our default monologue and just make time for ephemeral beauty.
The blossoms don’t care about your schedule.
Neither does the moment you’re in right now.
Sometimes, speed is necessary. But there are moments that deserve our full attention. See them. Don’t let them sweep by. They will never repeat again.
Have you ever thought about how much beauty you are missing because you’re not looking?
