To stay on theme with the last article, Kintsugi, which delved into finding beauty in the seemingly broken we’ll explore another Japanese philosophical concept which I find relevant to the subject of performance longevity. Oubaitori is a Japanese idiom which translates to “Every flower blooms in its own time.” As much as man likes to claim dominion over the forces of nature we without a doubt can never anticipate every contingency, including and especially the ones that influence our biology. The precision of our modern measurements and commensurate intervention capabilities in the realm of health and performance are marvelous. Without the balance of oubaitori, we can be headed towards a tower of biological Babel.
Knowing that everything will blossom in its own time delivers with it a type of wise patience that doesn’t try to force itself to the point of frustration and then quitting. I’ve seen this happen hundreds of times in the course of my career working with human beings who are trying to feel and perform better. They rip open the flower petals in a mistaken effort to force a bloom. Forced rehabilitation processes, rushing through learning situations to get “there”, secret sauce programs, super supplements, and even cheating.
We Are Nature
Often when we speak of Nature with a capital N it’s something that’s out there; away from us. This fundamentally flawed premise sets us up for potentially big problems because we will fail to see how the same laws that govern the force of the flower petal govern the emergence of our own potential, whether behavioral, ethical, or biological. In the realm of health and performance we often look for “hacks” to our biology to stave off aging or give us access to some superhuman ability of healing. While the original term was borrowed from computer geeks who found back doors into systems otherwise thought inaccessible it ironically also describes the act of inelegant chopping.
When we try to hack things too much we can get stuck in a spin cycle that tries to bypass the reality of things happening in their own time. Please don’t take any of this to be an encouragement of passivity towards the development of qualities that contribute to health or performance. Not in the slightest. The development of qualities and attributes that reliably deliver the kind of performance longevity most are interested in reconcile the sentiment of oubaitori with plain fashioned hard work and resolve or to use another Japanese idiom “ganbaru” or striving.
Maybe it’s overkill to get this philosophical about such a topic? I do think it bears consideration in the world of rapid fire and voluminous marketing that promises the health consumer that they can skip steps and cheat biology. That neither respect for biology is implicit nor is striving to achieve results required. In my humble and limited experience this builds nothing but paper tigers and false hopes.
“Plasticity is vast but not limitless. There are things our brains cannot imagine, and hence we have only a glimmer of what they may be.”
Jaak Panskepp
Awesome Blossom
I suppose the next question is how can we put concepts like oubaitori and ganbaru to practical use?
Don’t be in a rush. That’s not the same thing as doing what needs be done in timely fashion. Rushing implies wasteful anticipatory concern with getting to the end state. Easier said than done, especially when it comes to wanting to feel and do better. But then again what isn’t?
You cannot outwit biology. There are laws that govern the Universe and if you think you’ve outwitted them, it probably means you’ve just missed something.
Strive, yes. Water your plants. Provide sunlight and nutritious soil. Allow the rest to occur naturally. The same goes for the care of your personal biology. Provide the proper conditions for growth to occur, then let it happen.
Human Horticulture
Just like horticulturists must work within the constraints of the natural world so too must we do the same with the management of our minds and bodies. Providing more nourishing conditions can and often does lead to what seem like super-biological outcomes but alas, just like this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival here in Virginia Beach, a day of strong wind can blow it all away.
The perspective that comes with oubaitori is not just a quaint trope for us to put in an Instagram meme. It has real practical value, especially in the context of performing our best for a lifetime. Certainly as we come up against challenges in our health or as we strive for new levels of capacity and performance it can help to adopt an attitude of allowing things to unfold as nature intended.
Thanks for reading,
Rob
Your thinking and writing are improving in equal measure, and both are already quite extraordinary. Thank you.