Alone on a hill, The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still. Fill your head with something else, she said. That’s the only thing you can do. So he filled his head with sandwiches and drinks and Beatles songs From morning to night he closed his brain to everything else His customers would […]
There was that moment early on in the Pandemic when everyone stopped and looked around them. The cars, the planes, the trucks, the boats all ground to a halt and a whole world opened up. That was when I rediscovered birdsong. It had been in me since a child, every time I go back to
Technically, it’s Spring, although it doesn’t feel yet as though the weather has settled on that. There was snow last week, then rain, then temperatures in the 60s but now back to the 30s. Something in the air has changed though. There are daffodils and snowdrops in the woods at the back of the house.
Hikikomori, condition in which a person is socially avoidant to the point of staying isolated at home for at least six months without social interaction. The term hikikomori can also refer to a person who is experiencing this prolonged socially avoidant condition. (Encyclopedia Britannica) It’s 4 in the afternoon. The Tourist had woken at 4 in the morning, jet-lagged and
The Tourist and the Hikkikomori Read More »
Kinkaku-ji Temple and Ryoanji Temple Two hours on the bullet train from Tokyo to arrive in Kyoto early evening. It was cold and dark and the streets were narrow and poorly lit. Went in search of something marked on the hotel map that was close and looked like a tofu restaurant. Turned out it was
“Identities are fluid, flexible in Japan, perhaps because reality is not. And in a culture based upon impermanence, you can give yourself up to any disguise, because it doesn’t last.” A Beginner’s Guide to Japan by Pico Iyer “Together with Others, Immerse your Entire Body, Perceive with your Body, and Become One with the World
“Playing a part is, deep down, about seeing yourself as a part, a tiny part of a much larger whole that, if you play your part perfectly, can be greater than the sum of its parts.” A Beginner’s Guide to Japan, Pico Iyer. The Japanese quite naturally form the most orderly, equally spaced queues. Everyone
Initial Impressions Read More »
The time difference between Tokyo and New York is 14 hours. We were on the plane for 14 hours, left at 11am on Sunday morning and arrived at 4pm Monday afternoon. Where did those 14 hours go? My brain still can’t quite get a handle on it. The time difference is large enough that I’m
Why do I always choose the dishes, when really what I want to do is write? Because doing the dishes is so much easier. It’s boring, yes, but it’s a discreet task that has a beginning, a middle and an end, and a very clear purpose. Yes, I can do it well or not, but
To do the dishes, or to write? That’s the question. Read More »