There is a time in our lives that we all reach a certain point where we reflect on various aspects of the past for various reasons. I had the chance to do so just the other day when I ran into an old acquaintance that I hadn’t seen in over ten years. Before that, it had been seven. There was a time when I called this person friend, and then a time I knew this person to be an arch-nemesis. The reason for falling out is because we chose to follow different paths and established ourselves with different clicks. On a random Friday, I went to coffee, which was out of charter for me as I usually only make the rounds on the weekend. I ran into this old friend by chance at one of my favorite spots.
Time had changed us both. He was married with three kids getting ready to change jobs, and recently bought a new home. The whole experience was surreal and humbling as we sat there and caught up and talked heavily about comic books of all things, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles specifically. Beyond that, there wasn’t much of a conversation. Not only did I sit there and catch up with him, but I listened to the realities of those around me unfold and play out on the stage we were all sharing at the moment. Mind you, everyone in the play was all relatively the same age; the only thing that was different about us was that we were all in different places in life.
When I think of where we are in life, I often think of traffic. We are all getting somewhere in some vehicle. Sitting at a light watching other cars make it through the light before I was stopped, I thought it’s not that if I was any earlier or faster would I have made it through the light; I am just in a different place in traffic. Where it is I am going, I finish first in my own race.
After the humbling moment and after taking in all the subplots going on in and around me, I began to think of my own life and how happy I am that my life is where it is. There are times where I think to myself that I feel like Salvador Dali walking around with my anteater, believing that I am too abstract to fit in other than being a novelty. I begin to wonder what good reading a book about a talking cat did for me, and no, I am not talking about the Cheshire cat. I am referring to the cat in the master pice Masters and Margarita. There is a reality and happiness I found in life that is a blessing and a curse.
Often, I feel envious of others and what they seemingly have, but I am reminded that I am not them, and to have what they would mean that I would be them or I would like something similar to what they are in character and identity. I followed an interesting path in life, one that led me to do things that not many other people do or are interested in, and because of that, it has lead to the creation of a unique way of seeing, interpreting life, let alone living a life.
I found happiness and know how to express it uniquely. When I was in Japan, I was happy, excited, and full of awe and wondered about being there and experiencing everything. Every encounter was a joy, and the people I encountered picked up on that vibe reciprocated it. I wasn’t just another tourist; I was an embodiment of everything good a place has to offer. I walked around with my Canon Camera, my cat hat, and Yamoto class battleship T-Shirt. There was a magic to having no one know me or anything about me. There were no preconceived conceptions about me, no expectations, and there were certainly no expectations of myself. In that stillness and quietness, I could feel peace and could finally hear what my heart was telling me in that silence.
I remember walking down a street and hearing the voice turn here, stop do, get on this train, go with it, and I would end up exactly where I was supposed to be. On one occasion while In Kyoto, I got on the right train and had to backtrack some distance which took a reasonable amount of time. When I found the train I was looking for; I was skeptical about getting on as I didn’t want to waste any more time. I got on and got off several times before the train started up. At that time, I remember someone smiling, smirking, and laughing a bit at my silly antics. I had to laugh, too, until the voice just said, hey, go with it.
Finally, I got to where the Tori gates were and started my journey up the Mountain. When I begin these journies, I have no idea of where I am going, just a vague idea. I got some a ways up the mountain before deciding enough and that it was time to head back. A short moment later, this beautiful girl was calling to me. This was the same girl from the train. We started talking and decided to make a go of the day together. At that moment, I got to share some amazing things with her that were of my own “cup of tea” We went to a Starbucks that was typical of an Edo period experience. We meet up with some Korans whom we befriended and shared our most recent journies and experiences. Together we traveled the city exploring temples having dinner together. In Japan, it’s their culture to often give small gifts to someone for various reasons. Since the city of Kyoto is known as the city of foxes, I picked up several small plastic praying foxes from various vending machines found everywhere. I had two. Before we said goodbye, I handed her one and said that this is to remind her of the good day and the friendship that we had found, that she be safe and find magic on the rest of her journey.
That was a story that seemed to be right out of some novel but was, in fact, my story. The freedom to go anywhere and be me was unparalleled to anything I had ever felt or known before. There was no past, there was a future, but the presence was everything.
How often do we get caught up in the daily grind the daily beat of life? How often do we succumb to the rigid structure of a weekly schedule? And, how often do we allow ourselves to be affected by the play that is unfolding with all the plots and subplots along with their tones themes, and undertones? Very few times in life do we stop to hear the stillness that speaks to us. Often times the voice that speaks in silence is drowned out.
A friend made mention to me that the reason I felt this way was that I was on vacation, so of course I felt this way. I argued that when I am on vacation, more so when I am in Japan I have a vague idea of what I want to do and where I want to go but I really have no plans whatsoever. I am free of everything, free to follow the vibrant and positive energy around me. Most people on vacation are often stressed out because of having to make various connections and making sure they cram all the attractions into their short time. I know this was true when I was in France. The trip was non-stop go, go, go. Even so, I made sure to take some time for myself and found my own magic.
Ironically as I work on this blog I drift through my weekend and seemingly found the same magic I have been searching for and embodies that I am talking about yet is seemingly so hard to find. I woke early enough to catch the first coffee shop group at Starbucks but missed them. As I sat there for a while doing my thing a voice said it’s time to go. I packed up my things and headed to my next stop to see if my camera was in. While at the camera shop I contemplated buying a new camera. The 90D had not come in nor was it coming in any time soon. Instead decided on the EOS R6. The multitude of questions and witty banter brought me to come out of the store at exactly the right time in order to run into my friend from Turkey. I was afforded the brief moment of catching up with promises of catching up before she left back for Turkey in August.
After seeing my friend I went down to the Cafe that I frequent often and ran into an old friend who was also my boss when I worked in the oil field. We had one of those conversations that I often seek to find and have but often fall short of having. The conversation hinged on individual growth, and self-development as people since when we first meet. We talked about the importance of closure in life before we can move on from various aspects of life. I was so dumbfounded by the simple idea of closure that I began to think about the power of forgiveness as a way of moving on in life. I was also reminded of my uniqueness and my talents let alone my unique take on life. I challenged the conventional and pushed others to think outside their box during my time in the oil field and still do to this day in the everyday ordinary world. We positively fed oneanothers’s souls to go out into the world and spread, even more, Karama and happiness.
I was so moved by the day that I wanted to continue to move with the positive forces of life and share the magic I had found. My day wasn’t finished, there. While at the cafe I came across a Burlesque show that was to be played later that night. While attending I meet someone there that I had known somewhat but the way everything happened to me and to life I was saying, Yes. This is someone I want to know more about. This is someone who is a vibrant and joyful color in an already banal palette of colors whom I wanted to paint the world with and see how she could paint the world. That’s the magic about life, as an artist finding amazing people to help paint the portrait to life and to collaborate with on even bigger pictures and pieces.
