Rachel’s Room🛋️

Hello. Hello, Cadre. Happy Thursday. I don't know, for some reason it wouldn't let me like enter the live stream without. Wow, I can't speak enter the live stream without scheduling another one for some reason. I think maybe it's because I didn't come in right at 2, so apologies if there's like a double lie on the schedule. Hi. Hello. I am back home. I was in Japan for about a week, which was pretty amazing. But definitely glad to be home and get back to my routine. I feel like I'm finally, finally, finally over jet lag.

So. And just sort of like getting back into routine and readjusting to being at home, which is always quite interesting. So I really wanted to share with you guys today some really beautiful Japanese philosophies that I learned about that are very pertinent to mental well being. So I'm just gonna pull up because I want to make sure that I get these right. There's a few that really stuck out to me and that I feel like are some are philosophies and ways of thinking that would, would help me if I adopted them a little bit more ritualistically or like on a daily basis.

And the thing I love about these is like it's not something that you necessarily have to. Hi Jen. They're not. You don't need anything to do them besides your mind and a willingness to practice and try. So I always love when I can like learn new ways of thinking about the world and try and integrate it into my day to day life. So. Okay, let me see. I had this list up before. Sorry. Okay, well, the first one is wabi sabi. I don't know if you've heard of wabi sabi, but it's this. It's a Japanese philosophy that is basically all about finding beauty and imperfection and more specifically finding an appreciation for the transient like ever changing reality of life.

And I particularly find that very topical for me right now as I sort of grapple with a lot of anxiety about aging and getting older. Not that I'm old, but I'm turning 37 this year and I just am very aware that I'm closer to 40 than 30. And I know I've just noticed myself having a lot of thoughts about getting older and age and the disappearance of my youth and you know, whatever that means. And so I think like it's a very timely concept for me to start integrating into my life, to really start appreciating, appreciating impermanence and finding beauty in things, being Temporary and.

And also finding beauty in things that are not perfect and appreciating things for their imperfections. And I. I think that's something that I definitely struggle with a lot, is perfectionism. So finding more ways to appreciate things as they are and especially for being imperfect is something that I am hoping to. To work with and work on. So what? That's wabi sabi. So that's the first one. Let me find. There were, like, three more that I really liked, and I do not want to butcher their names because they're all in Japanese.

Oh, this is a cool one. But I'm not gonna talk about that one today. But have you ever heard of ikai? Ikai? Wow. Ikai guy, I think, is how you say it. That's actually something that a lot of psychologists will use with clients. It's your, like, your reason for being or your purpose in life. And there's actually like, a ikai guy chart, and it's sort of like a Venn diagram where, like, you sort of have these categories of, like, work, values, personal life, et cetera. And it helps you kind of, like, hone in on your one.

Like, what is your meaning and your purpose? If you're struggling with purpose, I recommend looking into an ikai guy chart and seeing if that's, like, you know, something that you can fill out at home. It's pretty interesting. So, okay, where are these other ones? Okay, again, I really don't think I'm gonna pronounce these properly, but Kaizen. So Kaizen is a philosophy of continuous improvement. And it's. Instead of, like, seeking. Again, a lot of these are about, like, not seeking perfection, which.

So instead of seeking perfection, it's about striving for, like, really small change. So Kaizen is this. This philosophy of looking for small ways that we are growing, small ways that we are improving and honoring those tiny, small pieces of growth rather than focusing on the end goal or things changing in a perfect way. And I think that's really fitting when it comes to our mental health, because a lot of times it's really hard for us to measure if we're getting better, if therapy is working. And it's really valuable for us to start to actually look at really small changes and acknowledge those really small successes and see them as really big wins and notice these tiny milestones along the way, rather than thinking about the entire grandiosity of it all.

So that's another one that I really liked. And then, so that's kaizen. We talked about Wabi sabi and the Last one that I really liked. Where did it go? There's a whole Medium article on this too that I read yesterday that I really loved. After I was like thinking a lot about Wabi Sabi and wanted to dive more into it. Where is it? Horenso. I love the names too. Oh, I love this one. I don't know. So this is a concept about offering the best service without expecting a reward. So it's like very rooted in Japanese culture and how Japanese culture functions, which is like you provide the utmost service, you give as much as you can without expecting anything in return.

And I think that this is a really lovely way of going about life. I think this is beautiful way for us to kind of get out of a transactional mindset when it comes to relationships and when it comes to like, creative work or jobs. When we think about how can I be of service and not be thinking about what I'm going to get in return and instead doing it, you know, just out of a. Either the goodness of our hearts or out of this notion of that's my philosophy and how I operate. But the idea is, you know, giving or providing a service and doing it well and doing it with.

In a quality way and without an expectation that something is going to be returned to us. Oftentimes that can be really hard, especially if we grew up in a home or if we've had relationships where we tend to be the giver and don't receive a lot, or if we have a history of people pleasing. So obviously if that's something you're working through, maybe that's not the best philosophy for you to adopt right now. Excuse me, But I do think it's a lovely way to approach things and to kind of come about life and relationships from a place of contribution.

Like contribution is a really lovely way for us to participate in society, participate in work, participate in relationships. And it can actually feel really good to contribute without expectation. So that one is omo. I don't know how to pronounce this properly. Omotenashi. And then the other two were wabi sabi. That's, you know, embracing imperfection and appreciating things for, you know, whether they're impermanent or transient or in change and honoring that things are always in flux. And then kaizen, which is striving for small change and continuous improvement over time rather than a humongous end goal.

So those are some three. Those are three Japanese philosophies that I wanted to share after coming back from my trip in Japan. And yeah, it was cool. Do you want to see pictures? I posted some on my Instagram and I'll probably keep sharing more about it. But also, if you haven't noticed, this month on Cadre, our whole theme is harvest. So I'm going to be posting videos this month that have to do with that concept of harvesting, especially in the context of mental health. Sorry, I'm holding tweezers.

I'm a very fixated person and I pick my nails. So this gives me a way to have something to do instead of picking my nails. So if you have any tips for that. I used to have a fidget spinner and like one of those anxiety rings. I really liked those. But normally like I think you if you guys have been in my lives, you know, I like usually have super long nails which helps me not pick at my skin. But I'm trying to be more budget conscious. So I have not been no nails this month. So that's the tea, y'.

All. I hope you're doing well. I hope you are harvesting beautiful things for yourself this fall and enjoying the transition of seasons. If transition is hard for you, you're not alone. It is also difficult for me as well. I think I have several videos on my page about transition and change if that is something that you are looking for support with. So as always, if you have questions or comments, please feel free to leave them on my videos. And I am just so glad you're here and I will see you next week.

Have a lovely rest of your weekend or weekday. It's Thursday, right? Okay, maybe I am still jet lag.