Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection – Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica
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0:03 - 0:08There are experiences that we share.
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0:08 - 0:13Things that we all go through by virtue of being human.
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0:13 - 0:17They unite us, these experiences that we share,
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0:17 - 0:21and perhaps none unite us more so than,
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0:21 - 0:26the experience of going through -- bad circumstances,
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0:26 - 0:30having difficult things happen in life.
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0:30 - 0:32Sometimes when those circumstances happen
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0:32 - 0:39our only recourse is to ask, " Why? Why me?"
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0:39 - 0:43as we try to make sense of life.
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0:43 - 0:48I think the reason that those circumstances unite us
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0:48 - 0:53like nothing else can, is because we can all relate.
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0:53 - 0:58At some point, at some time, we will all have those kinds
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0:58 - 1:02of occurrences. I am no exception.
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1:02 - 1:04When I was a kid, I had to get out.
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1:04 - 1:08I grew up on a horse ranch in the remote Rockies of Colorado
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1:08 - 1:13and we lived high atop a mountain meadow and in every
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1:13 - 1:17single direction, except one, miles away in the distance,
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1:17 - 1:22there was no sign of civilization whatsoever.
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1:22 - 1:24I loved it, it was idyllic,
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1:24 - 1:28I spent my childhood atop a horse, but I, I had to get out,
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1:28 - 1:33I longed for civilization, for culture. I longed to wear
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1:33 - 1:35the clothes that I saw in magazines.
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1:35 - 1:40Anything other than boot cut Wranglers really. (Laughter)
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1:40 - 1:46And -- I longed to go somewhere, where there were
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1:46 - 1:52people and meet them and and see them or know them.
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1:52 - 1:55Any people that I wasn't related to by blood --
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1:55 - 1:57(Laughter)
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1:57 - 2:01The city was just calling my name and I had to figure out how to respond.
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2:01 - 2:04One day I played "Hookie"
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2:04 - 2:07to come up with the master plan, I hopped on my mini-bike
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2:07 - 2:10and rode the hour and fifteen minutes to
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2:10 - 2:15Colorado City, it was the nearest town that had a store.
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2:15 - 2:19I picked up a Glamour magazine, as my guide book
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2:19 - 2:23and sure enough, right there in the pages,
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2:23 - 2:27was the plan for my life, clear as day.
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2:27 - 2:31I could be a model, I was tall enough, I mean I was
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2:31 - 2:33already on the Boys Basketball Team.
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2:33 - 2:39I just needed to get someplace where they needed models.
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2:39 - 2:46Uuhh, I chose Europe. Talked my friend Lizzy into going,
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2:46 - 2:50we both got a couple of jobs. We saved up.
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2:50 - 2:56The big day finally arrived. Now no sooner did we land
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2:56 - 3:01in France than a man wearing a camera around his neck
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3:01 - 3:04approached me. He asked me if I was a model.
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3:04 - 3:07Told me he could make me one if I were to just go off
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3:07 - 3:11with him and his friend standing over there.
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3:11 - 3:16That is how easy it is to become a model in France!
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3:16 - 3:20Lizzy said, "No way in hell!" Ah, but Lizzy didn't know
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3:20 - 3:23anything about my master plan. So -- I just ditched her,
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3:23 - 3:30went off for the guy with the camera and his friend --
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3:30 - 3:35They drugged me. They took me to an abandoned
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3:35 - 3:40construction sight and beat me mercilessly.
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3:40 - 3:46I had no idea I had -- made a sound when kicked.
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3:46 - 3:51They drugged me again and raped me repeatedly.
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3:51 - 3:54And they cut me. I had one action available to me
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3:54 - 3:56which was just to look away.
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3:56 - 3:59I craned my head as far as I could
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3:59 - 4:02to the right and just stared at the wall. There was a --
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4:02 - 4:08dancing -- spot of light on the wall. It must have been a
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4:08 - 4:11reflection from something outside and it was free,
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4:11 - 4:16whatever it was. I stared at the little spot of light with
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4:16 - 4:22all my might and the harder I stared the more I -- became
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4:22 - 4:27the spot of light. I wasn't the scrap heap of a girl,
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4:27 - 4:31being torn to shreds, I was just a dancing, little sparkling,
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4:31 - 4:38shimmer of light, that could fly away at any time I chose --
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4:40 - 4:44They dumped me in a parking mist three days later.
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4:44 - 4:48It was then that the "Why" questions really set in.
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4:48 - 4:51"Why did I have to come here?"
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4:51 - 4:56"Why can't I just be happy staying at home like everybody else?"
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4:56 - 5:00"Why did God let this happen to me?"
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5:00 - 5:03I didn't tell anybody, I couldn't tell anybody.
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5:03 - 5:09I was now disgusting and dirty and filthy and ruined and used up
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5:09 - 5:14and if I told anybody, if anybody new what had happened to me,
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5:14 - 5:19they would know those things so -- I didn't speak.
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5:19 - 5:25To anyone. I just pushed it all down.
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5:25 - 5:36I became very, very aloof and removed and -- was a loner.
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5:36 - 5:39I eventually did become a model.
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5:39 - 5:41The profession suited me really well.
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5:41 - 5:43Never once in all of the years that I was a model,
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5:43 - 5:46did anyone ask me to have a deep conversation.
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5:46 - 5:50I had found my people! (Laughter)
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5:50 - 5:53The phenomenon of "the grass is always greener"
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5:53 - 5:55is alive and thriving in the modeling world.
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5:55 - 5:57Wherever I would go, they would,
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5:57 - 6:00within a short period of time, wanna send me someplace else,
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6:00 - 6:03because wherever we weren't was looked at
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6:03 - 6:06as infinitely cooler than wherever we were.
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6:06 - 6:09Paris sent me to New York, Milan to Paris,
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6:09 - 6:14London to Japan. It was in Japan that the next stage of
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6:14 - 6:17my journey unfolded. With the exception of the time
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6:17 - 6:20I was actually shooting, I spent the entirety of my journey
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6:20 - 6:23in Japan, in the agency itself.
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6:23 - 6:28They had a massive, completely unused, conference room.
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6:28 - 6:30Nobody was ever there except the grandparents
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6:30 - 6:33of the owners of the agency.
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6:33 - 6:36They have this fabulous tradition in Japan.
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6:36 - 6:40They include their elders in their business lives
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6:40 - 6:45and personal lives. They're looked upon as a resource for
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6:45 - 6:48the wealth of information and knowledge that they bring.
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6:48 - 6:53What a concept. I was in the conference room one day,
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6:53 - 6:58just -- frankly I was absentmindedly day dreaming about
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6:58 - 7:01how to plot my revenge against the men from France
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7:01 - 7:04but I was in there pretending to read a book
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7:04 - 7:06and daydreaming and I was sitting at this big, wooden,
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7:06 - 7:08conference table they had in there.
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7:08 - 7:10This thing was probably ten feet long.
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7:10 - 7:13It was, carved out of one solid piece of wood.
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7:13 - 7:17It was beautiful but it had massive
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7:17 - 7:22dents and nicks and duvets and it was narrow at one
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7:22 - 7:27end as if -- it just that is where the tree narrowed.
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7:27 - 7:31I was sitting there, absentmindedly, running my fingers
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7:31 - 7:34over one of the holes in the wood when the grandmother
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7:34 - 7:42walked in and stared at me, She said, "Ahh, Wabi Sabi!"
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7:42 - 7:46She shocked me out of my stupor. "What's that?"
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7:46 - 7:50"Wabi Saa? Is that like Wasabi?"
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7:50 - 7:53From the other room, Myoko, my agent, cups her hand
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7:53 - 7:58over the phone and laughs. "Nooo", she said.
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7:58 - 7:59I turned back to the grandmother,
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7:59 - 8:06"I'm sorry, Wabi Sabi, is that like a desk or conference table? Wood?"
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8:06 - 8:09From the other room Myoko chimed in again. She said,
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8:09 - 8:15"No, no, no hon, Wabi Sabi is the Japanese aesthetic."
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8:15 - 8:20"Oohhh", I said, completely confused.
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8:20 - 8:23Within a few moments, Myoko walked in the room,
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8:23 - 8:27along with her grandfather and then the three of them took turns telling me
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8:27 - 8:30their version of what Wabi Sabi means.
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8:30 - 8:32According to the grandfather,
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8:32 - 8:38Wabi Sabi is the most essential of all Japanese principles.
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8:38 - 8:40Wabi Sabi states that the beauty of
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8:40 - 8:45any object lies in the flaws of that object.
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8:45 - 8:56Things such as mistakes and damages, or -- ruined parts,
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8:56 - 8:59those are actually designed in.
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8:59 - 9:04The grandmother said that beauty is a study in contrasts,
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9:04 - 9:07so something can only be seen to embody perfection,
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9:07 - 9:12if it also embodies a correlate degree of imperfection.
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9:12 - 9:15These people were blowing my mind.
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9:15 - 9:18I had to get out of there. I gathered up all my junk
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9:18 - 9:22and went for a walk.
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9:22 - 9:25I wondered --
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9:25 - 9:31"Did this mean that Wabi Sabi could even apply to me?"
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9:31 - 9:35Naagh. I kept walking.
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9:35 - 9:40Went to a outdoor cafe, grabbed my lunch at the counter,
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9:40 - 9:45went and sat down at a table and started to read.
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9:45 - 9:47Within a few moments I heard shouting.
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9:47 - 9:50I looked up and saw disheveled looking woman,
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9:50 - 9:54who appeared to be shouting at me and she was screaming,
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9:54 - 10:03"Naze sensô Nihon! Naze sensô Nihon!"
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10:03 - 10:05I fidgeted and looked around, certain I was completely
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10:05 - 10:07mistaken but there was no denying it,
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10:07 - 10:10she was delivering her words to me!
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10:10 - 10:13A man at the table next to me leaned in and said,
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10:13 - 10:18"She asked why, why you make war on Japan?"
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10:18 - 10:25(Laughter)
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10:25 - 10:28"I don't make war on Japan, I am a teenager!
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10:28 - 10:31Make war on Japan, who do you think I am,
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10:31 - 10:34some sixty year old dude in a army uniform!
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10:34 - 10:38I am not, I am not the president, I am a teenager.
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10:38 - 10:40I don't like war any way!" I put my face back
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10:40 - 10:45in my book and tried to pretend it wasn't happening,
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10:45 - 10:51the woman continued, "Naze! Sensô Nihon! Sensô Nihon!"
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10:51 - 10:58She removed a cloth envelope from one of her bags, and carefully unfolded it.
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10:58 - 11:02The cloth envelope contained two photographs.
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11:02 - 11:07They were both black and white, tattered and yellow.
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11:07 - 11:11One was a man, the other was a woman.
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11:11 - 11:13She clasped the photos and held them above her head.
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11:13 - 11:17She started to cry now.
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11:17 - 11:21Now there was no ignoring her. I looked up.
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11:21 - 11:24Every eye in the place was upon us.
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11:24 - 11:26The woman with the photos above her head
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11:26 - 11:28and me the only Westerner.
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11:28 - 11:31She continued screaming and crying.
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11:31 - 11:33The man at the table next to me leaned in again,
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11:33 - 11:40this time he said,"She ask Why? Why you kill her parents?"
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11:40 - 11:43Oh now this was getting out of hand.
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11:43 - 11:47"Kill her parents" This woman is crazy, that's all there is to it.
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11:47 - 11:49I slammed my book together, started throwing my stuff in my bag.
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11:49 - 11:53Look at her! Nose running down her face,
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11:53 - 11:55snot bubbling up over her mouth when she speaks,
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11:55 - 11:59look at those crazy, eyes --
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11:59 - 12:04Then I accidentally caught her glance.
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12:04 - 12:11As I did I saw the -- confusion --
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12:11 - 12:16and the frustration, and the anger, and the rage,
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12:16 - 12:25and the fury and her complete inability to express any of it.
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12:25 - 12:31I saw the deep, dark, pit of her aloneness
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12:31 - 12:35and I no longer saw a crazy woman.
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12:36 - 12:38I saw me.
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12:40 - 12:45I placed my belongings on the table and I bowed to the women.
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12:48 - 12:51She stopped crying, she stopped screaming,
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12:51 - 12:53she became silent.
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12:53 - 12:57When finally I looked up,
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12:58 - 13:02I said the only two words that made any sense.
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13:02 - 13:04"Wabi Sabi".
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13:04 - 13:06(Laughter)
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13:08 - 13:14I reverently collected my belongings, stood ---
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13:14 - 13:17and bowed.
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13:17 - 13:22Everyone, young and old alike, bowed back.
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13:24 - 13:27I used to pray that Wabi Sabi was real
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13:27 - 13:33and that somehow, some way, it could apply to me.
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13:33 - 13:36For a time I was convinced that in order to be anything other than damaged,
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13:36 - 13:40I would have to spend the rest of my life in Japan.
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13:40 - 13:42(Laughter)
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13:42 - 13:45Now I know differently.
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13:45 - 13:48You are magnificent.
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13:49 - 13:52And what makes you magnificent
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13:52 - 13:58is everything you've previously believed is wrong with you.
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13:59 - 14:02I leave you with my deepest wish,
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14:02 - 14:05that you recognize your beauty,
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14:05 - 14:09that you know your magnificence,
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14:09 - 14:13that you claim your Wabi Sabi!
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14:13 - 14:16(Applause)
- Title:
- Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection – Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica
- Description:
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Cheryl Hunter comes at her work with a multi-pronged approach, having merged seemingly-divergent careers around one idea: that a simple story, well-told and presented, has tremendous potential to educate, entertain and impact people. Cheryl is an educator, author, speaker and high-performance coach who has personally coached and led personal development seminars for over 86,000 people since 1995.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 14:19
Péter Pallós commented on English subtitles for Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection: Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica | ||
Akinori Oyama commented on English subtitles for Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection: Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection: Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection: Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection: Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica | ||
Ivana Korom approved English subtitles for Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection: Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection: Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica | ||
Lena Capa accepted English subtitles for Wabisabi: The magnificence of imperfection: Cheryl Hunter at TEDxSantaMonica |
Akinori Oyama
Just to share a clue about a phrase in this talk.
Japanese phrases at 9:54 and 10:45 read "Naze sensô Nihon! Naze sensô Nihon!". It literally says "Why War Japan" meaning something close to "Why make war with Japan?"
I hope this will give some sense about what it is.
Péter Pallós
4:39
I think "parking mist" is a nonsense. As far as I can hear this part of the sentence, it must be "a park in Nice".
Perhaps a native speaker/listener might solve this problem?