There is a story, probably apocryphal, about Sen no Rikyu, one of the great Wabi Sabi philosophers and Tea Masters. True or not, it enlightens us to the nature of Wabi Sabi.

Rikyu is Permitted to Learn The Way of Tea

Sen no Rikyu wished to study The Way of Tea, so he went to Takeno Joo the Tea Master. Joo set Rikyu to work tending the garden.

Rikyu raked the garden until the ground was perfect. He studied his work a moment and then shook the branches of the cherry tree, forcing a few blossoms to fall. Joo, seeing this, agreed to allow Rikyu into his school.

Eventually Rikyu became a great Tea Master and introduced the ideas of Wabi Sabi that defined the ceremony for centuries.