Wisdom of Ikebana: "Let your ego go to let flowers live"

I started to practice ikebana, Japanese traditional flower arrangement, almost over 20 years ago when I was a college student. I started ikebana, never thinking I would continue to do for such a long time. Never did I think I would put ikebana at the center of my life as I do now.

Why have I been so attracted to ikebana? And it is not only me. This intangible cultural practice has survived over 500 years despite wars, social upheavals and drastic cultural changes - which means ikebana has kept attracting people so strongly that there have been always people who have worked hard to let ikebana be inherited to next generations. Ikebana has also crossed national boundaries and quite a few people outside Japan enjoy practicing ikebana.

So the question would be - why are we attracted to ikebana?

I believe that we are attracted to the wisdoms that are deeply embedded in ikebana, and those wisdoms are universal and something that goes beyond ikebana. It is like, by practicing ikebana, you get to learn and practice those wisdoms first in the realm of ikebana, and then gradually, those wisdoms start to be penetrated into your actual life as well.

One of the ikebana wisdoms that I appreciate most is "You have to let your ego go to let flowers live." When I started, it was easy for me. As a beginner, I had nothing to lose and it was natural not to have any ego about the work I was creating. I was able to enjoy ikebana as it was.

But then, it became increasingly difficult, as my ego that "I would like to create ikebana work with which everyone would be impressed" started to grow. I wanted to make best use of my ikebana skills and techniques that I had developed. I wanted people's praise for my work.

My ego became too big to listen to the voice of flowers. I tried to do my own way and the result was always a disaster. Sometimes, it took me three hours to just finish a small ikebana work. And the end result looked good enough, but I did not feel anything from it. There was no flow and there was no energy. The flowers would have looked much more beautiful if they were just put in a jar. Then, I thought what I would need was more practices and more skills, so I just kept practicing, only to feel miserable in the end.

One day, I decided to quit ikebana. I could not enjoy doing ikebana any longer. If it is just a hobby, why do I have to suffer and feel miserable every time I do ikebana? Time to say good-bye. I left.

I spent a few years totally away from ikebana. Many things happened in my life during the time including living in the US, painful breakups (as any breakup is painful), wandering off the world of "what do I want to do in my life, really?"...I slowly started to put my foot on the ground and to understand who I was. Then suddenly I thought, "I would like to do ikebana again."

Despite my disappearance over years, my master teacher whole-heartedly welcomed me back. I again started to do ikebana - this time, just to enjoy ikebana, enjoy the time to let flowers live. It was purely fun and beautiful, and whenever I felt my ego grew to have its own voice, I told her to shut up so that I could listen to the voice of flowers.

The way I saw the world also gradually changed. I listened to others more attentively. I observed where I visited using all my senses. I started to think how I could help people around me, or sometimes organizations, be who they really are. I started to connect people in a way to allow them to do what they really want to do but cannot do by themselves. By doing so, by letting my ego go and listening to the real voice of others, and by letting people and organizations live, I realized there were many things I could do for the world.

Of course, I do not think the change in the way I see and interact with the world happened only because of ikebana. There were so many learnings and experiences that grew me as a human. But I think ikebana set the tone for the change.

There is still long way to go and this path never ends. Even today when I do ikebana, I sometimes become aware that the voice that I follow is not that of flowers, but that of my ego. When I participate in the ikebana exhibition, I cannot help but hoping that people would love my work and I want praise. In my real life, it is even worse - I often find myself in situations where I feel "Where does the 'let your ego go' go? "

But it is OK, as I always have ikebana, the wisdom, with me. Whenever I feel disappointed (mostly with myself) or stressed out, I do ikebana, trying to calm myself and listen to flowers. Sometimes I fail, but sometimes I succeed and I can purely enjoy letting flowers live moment by moment. I feel I live in the moment. This is great enough, isn't it?