Souly Positive

Happy New Year! May 2015 bring you magic, laughter, joy and love and a few moments where you have to dance, almost pee yourself and smile inwardly knowing that you just witnessed a private miracle! Love and gratitude to all!

So, here I am in Japan in the not so greatest hostel:) but one that has allowed me to hunker down and get well. I am a day in advance of you so tonight is my New Year’s Eve! I have sent Kyle off to celebrate with young people because for me it would be torture to try and stay up late partying in a different language:) I chose to read my book, eat my scrambled eggs and finish my bottle of wine alone (only 1/2 darn it…my only regret:). This is a choice and one I love. I get to sit here and now write to all of you. I know it may not sound exciting, but for me…a simple creature….this totally works. I also got to talk to Robert for nearly 2 hours today and that was awesome:)

This year 2015 for the first time brings a break in all things resolutions…not that I still don’t have all the usual…lose weight, eat right, exercise regularly blah blah blah:) I have those same ones every year and am still breaking them. Sadly I thought I would do better on the road, but alas, no…still the ultimate loser:)…but tomorrow’s another day:) But for the first time though I am living a goal….the BHAG (Thanks Larry Kendall!)…Big Hairy Audacious (or A$$) Goal. It hasn’t been what I expected…it has been less and more. And honestly, I haven’t been what I’ve expected, again, less and more. I’m learning new things about the world and myself everyday, some of them I like and well let’s just say some of them I’m learning to live with:)

I do know this…the cliche’s are correct. Love is the answer, family is everything and friends are gold. WE are all interconnected in this world my friends and we need to learn that every movement, breath, word and action affects someone else and that effect ripples out in the world and touches place you never imagined.

Wait….who made me high priestess (oh yeah, the half bottle of wine:)? Jeez, let’s all get back to our drinking and I’ll finish telling you about my time in Japan….

I arrived in Kyoto/Osaka sick. It was Christmas day in Japan and we took the 9 hour night bus to get here with me feeling like…well, crap:( I always get sick at Christmas and contributed it to all the holiday stress. This year I had none though. So it must just be my time of the year for needing rest:) Several days laid up in the not so best hostel but good enough for resting, I was ready to venture out again.

Upon our arrival, before the hostel though, we had another adventure. Our train pulled in the station at 7:35 AM and our hostel would be ready at 1:00. That left a lot of coughing, hacking, wheezing time for me:( Kyle took us to a manga/comic/media cafe….a very weird place that you rent by the hour:) It has videos lined up on the wall everywhere and little carols that you rent with computers, headphones, pillows, and leather cushions….very comfortable actually. They are all lined in rows, kind of like cubicles….very weird. Kyle explained to me it’s how travelers got short rest breaks, businessmen got rest between high powered meetings etc. and I guess you can add sick moms sleeping while waiting for hostels:) I passed out. It was interesting. I don’t want to know all that goes on there and how my son knows about such things, but for me it was a beacon in the early morning:) We also made our way to the beautiful castle in Osaka…though at my puny state I didn’t get to fully enjoy it…then on to the hostel for several days of rest.

When I finally felt good enough to venture out again Kyle took me to Kyoto where I walked the Philosophers path with him, my very own philosopher, and he told me that it was named after his favorite philosopher, Nishida Kitaro, who used to walk that path every day. It, Kyoto, the shrines and temples were all amazing along with our lunch there. I have a side note here:) When I first arrived in Japan I noticed lots of Japanese wearing face mask. I thought well I guess they think they are too good for mine or anyone else’s germs and I must admit I kind of judged them. Then Kyle explained that they were sick and didn’t want people to get their germs. DUH! Who’s the big western idiot now? The one wearing the face mask, that’s who:)

But yesterday had to be my highlight:) I walked with deer! Yep, there is a whole town, Nara, that has temples, shrines, Buddha’s, forest and small deer walking around that you can pet and feed. Not just in a pinned area, but walking miles and miles throughout the whole town wherever and whenever they feel like it. For this animal lover, well let’s just say, nearly nirvana:) Of course my overly educated philosophizing son tried to ruin it for me by discussing the deer’s plight and dependency on humans blah blah blah…I finally told him to just be quiet and let me have my fantasy moment…and so he did:) It was awesome! We ended the perfect day meeting Kyle’s Japanese host mom from 7 years ago, Tsuneko, for dinner. It was lovely and so was she.

Our last full day in Japan, New Year’s Day, Kyle, Ling Ling and I went to Fushimi Inari, a shinto shrine with thousands of Tori gates. Evidently a popular New Years Day event because it was wall to wall people. Really beautiful though. And lots of heavy snow….burrr. We each got a fortune/forecast for the New Year and I bought a mamori (a charm) for safe travels…so I’m all good:)

Anyway Happy 2015 everyone! From Kyoto Japan, Love you all…Make it special!