A Short Comment After a Long Silence

Oh dear!

I feel like I'm a slice of ham in a sandwich.

Look at him! He is stuck between lettuce and cheese.
The cheese has melted and is holding him right. He can't even breathe from that side.

And, the lettuce.
It seems it's easy for him to push out the lettuce  and get fresh air. But when he tries, it's not that easy.

Why?

It's the margarine!
Margarine holds the lettuce so tight that he can't push it out.

What a strong magic that the sand-witch has!

Maybe I need to take a moment to find out what's left to be done to make the situation better. Favorably with a humming of some nice music.

Feeling of Complexity on a Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!

I believe you all know the song "We wish you a Merry Christmas" but every time I hear this song, a question comes into my mind: who are "we" in this song?

I'm in Japan this Christmas, and I saw all the beautiful illuminations in every street.

Yes, Christmas is a very big event in This country, especially for children and young couples. 

Why? Very simple. Presents for kids, and beautiful dating places for couples. It's not really a family event in here.

Yeah, Japan is a mixed-cultural, multi-religious country.

But my question is, why we don't celebrate Buddah's birthday as much as we do for Christmas? Even though we are know as a Buddism country?

Well, enough for a beginning thought.

I had a Christmas party with my coworkers tonight, and on the way back home, I came across a situation which really made me question about what we can do for people.

I was taking trains on the way back home. As you may already know, The train system in Japan is very neat. Especially around Tokyo, there are train statins every 2 miles. Seriously.

And one of the unique phenomena we have at big stations is that there are homeless people sleeping there. They've got roofs there, and it's relatively warmer than sleeping at parks.

So, it's not unusual for me, actually, to see those people at big stations.

What was unusual for me today was that I saw more than 10 homeless people lined up and sleeping with carbons at one station.

Yeah, it's Christmas. They probably know it.

But they couldn't do anything other than sleeping there, hearing the steps and laughs of happy "usual" people.

Christmas.

People are happy, celebrating the special day.

But it was also a day which clearly brought up the absolute difference of the life standards existing in Japan.

What are those people thinking on this special night?

Who else would think about them on Christmas Day?

Maybe I'm a little too crazy.

But, what can I do as a Japanese to make this country a better place?

Just a little bit.

What can be done?

What can I do?

Or, what can't I do?

Maybe that can gie me more options.

At least, I'm writing this blog out of that question.

I really wish you, a Merry Christmas.

A way to live for people.

Live Like A Mirror.

If you are the sun, shining daytime,

I'll become the moon, sending your light to those who need it at night.

If you are the star, giving hope for future,

I'll become the wind to blow away the clouds.

If you are the bird, making the morning joyous and cheerful,

I'll become dew that makes your stage even more gorgeous.

If you are the light, shining others up,

I'll be the mirror that shines you up.

And when you walk,

I'll walk with you.

And, when you stop,

I'll stop with you.

Without a word,

I sense your mind.

Without a word,

I feel your heart.

That's the way I will live,

if you allow me to do for you.

365 Days of Feeling Happy and Grateful ~Day11-15~

Day 11: Say thank you to the bed.

We usually don't even think about the privilege of sleeping with a comfortable bed. However, if you have experienced overnight camping or overnight mega-bus trip, you know your sleep is as tough as the "bed". So, let's thank it when we get up :)

Day 12: Notice what rain gives us.

Do you like rainy days?
To me, many people don't like rainy days. Well, personally, I prefer sunny days, but the truth is that sunny days and rainy days are not good or bad by themselves. We just attach personal meanings to these days, and feel "Oh, gosh! It's raining!"
I'm not going to try to convince you not to dislike rain here. That's not my purpose. But, let's just feel what rain gives to us. After all, we can't live without rain!

Day 13: Reassure yourself that you are on the way you want.

Where are you heading physically, mentally, spiritually, in terms of relationship, friendship, etc.?
Stop your walk for a moment and check where you are again, and make sure you are going to the right direction :)

Day 14: Feel the beauty that you havent' noticed yet.

There is always things we don't see, and yet very beautiful. Ask yourself, "What other beautiful things do I have?" Take your time for yourself to care and praise him/her. What did you find?

Day 15: Dissolve yourself in silence.

Every moment, we're surrounded by sounds. Car horn, subway, rattle of windows, flip of paper, chatting, typing... Even when we're sleeping, we hear some sound. Let's take some time to find silence. Rest our ears and feel our consciousness melting into the silent world. I'm sure that'll give you a positive calmness.

365 Days of Feeling Happy and Grateful ~Day6-10~

Day 6: Close your eyes before and after you eat.

In Japan, we say "いただきます (itadakimas)" before we eat to thank nature, life, farmer, fisher, cook... for the food. We say "ごちそうさま (gochisousama)" when finishing eating to express thanks again. I really like these concepts.
Just take a moment, close your eyes, and feel this special event that keeps us connected to the world :)

Day 7: Have a morning walk :)

"No! I don't have time in the morning! I have to sleep!"
OK, but you can find one day just to wake up 15 minutes earlier than usual, right? You can't imagine how beautiful you feel the morning is. Just 15 minutes earlier than usual. Just one day, maybe on weekends :)
"Well, yeah, someday."
If you can do it someday, do it tomorrow morning! Or this coming Saturday! I promise that day will be WONDERFUL.

Day 8: Read books that you've been interested in :)

Many people have desires to learn more about what they are interested in; however, they usually dont' follow through. Well, reading books is an easy and fun start for your learning. It's fun because you're interested in that area! :)
Go to a bookstore or a library, and get a book in your band! Then, you just had the first and prospective steps!

Day 9: This day is for my poem :)



Day 10: Change your viewpoint.

Everyday, we see what we always see. Trees, cars, people, buildings... We feel that we see the same things; however, if we change our viewpoint (from where we look), we'll notice something new even when we're looking at the same thing. How cats see the world? What's under a bench?

365 Days of Feeling Happy and Grateful ~Day 1-5~

Day 1: Smile when you sleep :)

The creator gave us our life today. It's a very precious gift we have ever got. Let's feel the preciousness of our life, and praise our life when you sleep :)

Day 2: Feel the smell of flowers.

There are so many things we don't focus on in daily bases: smell is the one we usually miss. Stop your walk for a moment and take a deep breath. You'll be surprised by the beautiful smell of flowers around you.

Day 3: Listen to birds' tweets.

Morning tweets tell you that your new day is starting. Afternoon tweets tell you to get relaxed and smile. Night time tweets congratulate you on your day.
Bird tweets are cheerful and energetic. Let your body get their message :)
Don't focus only on people's "tweets" online!

Day 4: Absorb the energy from the sun.

Before you say, "It's too hot!" or "So much UV!", I want to get you recognize something. You might be right, but think about what the sun gives to the nature. It's the source of energy of living. All plants and animals cannot grow without the energy form the sun. It's what keeps you alive! So, take a moment and absorb the vitality which is a great gift for you.

Day 5: Notice the colors around you.

What's your favorite color? How many times do you recognize that color in a day? A lot? Not so much? If your answer is the latter, you may be just not conscious of them. Notice the colors around you. Our world is colorful, and so as your life :)

365 Days of Feeling Happy and Grateful ~announcement~

Almost three weeks ago, I decided to focus on one thing each day that makes me smile, feel happy, grateful, powerful, energetic, curious or some other good feelings I can have, and to post it on facebook each day with a photos and a little comments on it.

And, now, I thought myself "this can be a grate opportunity to share it on my blog as well :)". So, from today, I decided to post my daily little happiness from today :)


Since I already have three weeks of pictures, I post them in one page, and then, I will start my daily post from the day 22 :)

So, let me start this with you! ;)