foliage

water

It's been a very surreal couple of months. While existential crises may not be unprecedented, it's hard to know exactly what's happened in the wake of the major earthquake/multiple tsunami/nuclear meltdown (personally, nationally, internationally) and if we've dealt with it well (or not at all). Trying to find your own path when an entire nation is floundering is not easy, but I can say this: fresh air really helps.

I once had a very eccentric boss who insisted I take a walk by the local duck pond when I received some bad news at work, and though I laughed at his illogical concern at the time I am beginning to think this might be my ultimate goal in life. On a hiking trip amidst Japan's hot-spring-punctured mountains I walked the length of Lake Ashi, listened to the wind rustling through the trees and the water lapping on the shore, and I thought - what if happiness is really this simple? What if, whatever happens between here and there, ultimately all I need to do is live by the water?

Obviously, a fair bit of whateverhappens has to happen first, and I'm faced immediately with the small matter of deciding what I want (discovery part II: I'm so petrified of staying true to myself I can't work out what the hell it is that my self wants).