Monday, January 27, 2014

Honmono (a genuine thing)

What is "Honmono (a genuine thing)"?
It is, I suppose, living or producing by nature's laws. Maybe relying too much on "convenience" would distract you from nature's law. Anyway, the people who have been questing for "Honmono" look happy, satisfied, and fun.

I'm so glad to share these videos with you:)


chap.#01 SHIGEYOSHI DOI "What is honmono/ 本物 ?"
from Inspiring People & Projects on Vimeo.

He is the son of the man in the above video who is talking about "Honmono".



chap.#03 KONBU DOI"Preparation" from Inspiring People & Projects on Vimeo.
One of the ladies explains the recipes with the use of Konbu and the other lady explains about the decorations used to welcome people.

You can see a few more of their lovely videos on http://vimeo.com/channels/556588

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

A dented label and a stack of letters

For family reasons, I am beginning to go through a lot of personal papers, mainly letters. And I am sent back some handfuls of years ago. Back to a time when I was still single, when being a mother wasn't part of my plan, when I spent most of my time studying and travelling.
And it is amazing to read my own handwriting and my own words, from my younger me to my parents.
There is such a bittersweet mix of feelings, the rekindling of old memories that had been lying dormant for ages. It is like going through the mirror and meeting my old self. I wrote such long letters at that time, sweet and beautiful accounts of my adventures. Through these letters I see again names I had erased from my memory. Events. Stories. Trips. Details.
Speaking of my parents, I came upon an old jar of jam in my cellar this morning. And stumbled on the label, a dented label with my father's handwriting on it, specifying a date and a name. Be still, my heart: in a single day I have swum up the stream and encountered testimonies of a time that I tend to forget these days.
My father died a few years ago. And I thought at the time that nothing would ever be the same again. I was somehow right, and yet, the power of daily routines and the life of a wife and mother have turned my life inside out and sent me on track again. A new track. Without my dad, my relevance, my rock.
There are moments in life when suddenly you are swept off your feet and you lose your balance. And then with a bit of luck, and love, and good sense, you find your center again.
And there are moments when mundane things, like a label or a stack of letters, create this 'Back to the future' kind of time warp and have you float in a special space, between past and present. It's like witchcraft.
And it is interesting, too. You find yourself making judgements on your past persona, and on your present life. When doing so, at least today, I find myself mourning and regretting some things. Certainly, on a scale of the things I can share here, I had a lot of opportunities to travel and meet people. More money, as I could spend it mostly all for myself. More time. And more friends, because as I have found, a woman with several kids loses a part of her interest (is that her conversation, her involvement, her responsibilities?). But I also find myself wrapped by the magic of what life has given me.
Yes, these days I can tell you more about the special cream I have discovered that can be rubbed on little chests to cure bad colds, than about the latest movie played downtown. But rubbing little chests and getting up at night to comfort little ones has replaced planning trips or going to parties. Sipping my morning coffee while reading has become a rare luxury, yet I used to read all morning on week ends!
And what I read from a dented label or a stack of letters is that they all form a long and sinuous path, that life is all about evolving and moving from one place to another. That everything is in constant change and that it is essential to go with the flow, move along that movement. We change places, we change. Rather than growing older, we grow. So many details are erased on the way, absorbed in the whirlwind of events and occurences, but emotions do not fade. Feelings remain. And we must count our blessings, if we are blessed enough to be still on that evolving path.
There are a few names crossed off my letters, a few authors of labels who are gone already. I am still on the path that takes me further. It is an amazing path, full of pains and wonders, passion and amazement. Like all human beings I have always struggled as to where the path takes us, and even why, but at least I can see that this path is pure magic. Further down the path, after witnessing both the good and the bad, I can say for sure it really is magic.


Monday, January 6, 2014

May 2014 be filled with love and peace!



The year 2014 began in a relaxing mood with fresh air and warm sunshine. I really thank God for having been able to celebrate the new year peacefully.

During the holiday, I went to see the movie "Gravity" with my husband this year. The image of the earth was beautiful. There was a scene in which the heroin drifts in the space alone, and when she tries to get in touch she hears people's voices and a dog barking from the earth (which makes her relax). She asked to have some lovely words as a lullaby. I would feel the same, if I were alone in the space, or say, if I were on my deathbed. The scene made me want to send space some positive energy such as beautiful warm words filled with love or laughing voices, not negative enerygy like angery voice!  

Also the next day, we visited Izu Shimoda. The sea quietly reflected the warm sunshine. 
The sea and the sun reminded me of the movie's image of the earth in space. 

If you could see the world from the universe's eye, you would feel that fighting between nations is absurd; fighting between each people is meaningless.  
The world will become as what you want to see and what you want to wish. We have responsibility to make the world better. So lets desire the world to be filled with love and peace.. 

I wish you all a wonderful 2014; may it be filled with love, light, peace, good health and happiness:)


Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Good morning, 2014!

Really, what am I doing with this blog!? Seriously, have I skipped my Merry Christmas wishes? Not that I have forgotten, but, Life has its ways, life happens, life has turns and tricks. Recently I was stopped in my tracks, by mere chance, and forced to realize how much time had passed, how many things I had dropped, neglected, avoided, abandonned, bypassed...Well, you get the idea.
Yet this blog means a lot to me, because I share it with a dear friend, because I have met great people out there in cyberspace, because I have plans and ideas for rubrics and things I want to write about.
I hope I get more regular and prolific in 2014, not because I have to, but because I want to. I also want to thank the sweet girls who left comments here on this blog. Because sometimes it means sooo much, else you end up wondering why the hell you should write in a vast, empty, silent, void space. Comments make it real, they make it human and heartwarming! Thanks again!
And to you all, have a wonderful year 2014. Mainly I will wish you the things I wish for myself: love, health, a sense of novelty and energy renewed, news plans and projects, beautiful discoveries and peace along the way, a true connection with Nature,  a re-connection with your artistic self . And freedom (something I will elaborate on in a next post, something that has to do with a certain state of mind). There, all new year wishes for you and me! :) Plus, all the things you dream about.
Here's to a great year together, crafting, reading, thinking, commenting. Here's to starting afresh!