Ever heard of the Japanese word 神業 (pronounced ‘kamiwaza')?
It is difficult to translate and like many other great words from Asia, it has no English equivalent.
Swiss performer Mädir Eugster of the Rigolo Swiss Nouveau Cirque builts a massive wooden Calder mobile.
The simplest translation would be ‘godlike act' or ‘divine work’.
Kamiwaza is not just a word. It is a concept, philosophy and lifestyle.
It refers to a skill worthy of the gods.
It is about the pursuit of excellence, getting close to perfection.
Let me repeat that.
Close to perfection.
CLOSE.
You see, it doesn’t mean you are all perfect or powerful.
It is about doing something for the sheer joy of taking it to the extreme, of going where no one has ever gone before.
"Kamiwaza. To act with absolute confidence, with no wasted motion."
In February 2013, Mädir Eugster Rigolo was presented with the Kamiwaza award in Japan. In Japan, Kamiwaza is the title given to a master with superhuman abilities. This is what ‘poetry in motion’ means to me.
When you forget the world around you. When you ignore all the distracting thoughts. When you throw yourself wholeheartedly into it. Then you are left with kamiwaza.
The cheetah runs with kamiwaza because it knows it can't run any better.
The climber climbs with kamiwaza when he's moving with purity & no wasted motions.
The street painter paints with kamiwaza as he makes his brush dance on white paper.
You can do the same.
The next project, big or small, the next task, the next little thing you do.
Seize the moment.
Get lost in that moment.
Dive into it.
Go all-in.
Experience KAMIWAZA.
PS1. 11:15 is the WTF moment. Absolutely mind-blowing. In a language that everyone understands it depicts how delicate of a world we live in.
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