Sharing Beauty and Peace

To dear Val and my dear readers,
I apologize you for my long, long absence from this blog and also I would like to express my gratitude to Val for allowing me to keep writing my part here.  As Val mentioned in her post, I created another blog in Japanese in April, although I have not been able to update it yet, due to a family problem.  The main reason I started the Japanese blog is to share the concept of "Beautify and Pacify", FACE TO FACE.

Sharing positive thoughts and viewpoints is valuable, especially in this confusing world.
Having read all of Val's recent posts, I really reaffirm my connections with her.  I found myself nodding my head as I read each post.  Beauty and Peace ARE always here, in an every single thing we do in our everyday life, and it depends on ourselves whether if we find them and enjoy them or not.  I really feel them through taking care of my mother who has been in the hospital.
As Val and Nancy say, every choice we make IS the key to make our world beautiful and peaceful.
I hope to continue to move on to our/my purpose, both on this blog and on my Japanese blog.

*****

Lastly, I would like to share some photos with you from an event called Children's Day (or sometimes Boy's Festival) in Japan, which is held on May 5th.  It was for celebrating boys but now it has become a day to celebrate children in general.  The event has already passed and though my photos are not timely, I did tell you I would talk about it just before I took my long absense, so I'm glad to be able to share these photos here.

On Children's Day, dolls for boys (patterns after warriors and heroes) are set up (abpve photo).
Also, if you come to Japan in May, you will see carp streamers  everywhere, flying in the blue sky.  Carp have the strength to swim up waterfalls. So, from ancient times, parents have prayed for the success of their children in life.  Traditionally, the event was for boys, but towards girls or boys, the thoughts of moms and dads have been the same: Happiness, good health and success... They all come from their deep LOVE!!!

Sachi

Gift swap, anyone?

Dear blog readers,

I wonder sometimes where this blog is going.
My last post dates back to april...seriously!?
To be honest, I've been tempted to let it go. Several times. Too much 'stuff' to deal with in my life. Too much I feel like writing, and too much I want to keep for myself. Two opposite forces that keep attracting and repulsing each other. Too much time to spend on the Web, too many things to do outside the Web. Decisions and directions to take. A mother's life, a worker's life, a wife's life, and a blog that is still somehow looking for its own meaning.
Does that make sense?
My dear friend Sachi, though still a foundation of this blog's soul, has been called to other blogging activities. She may sometimes post something about it here, and will be most welcomed. But she is busy elsewhere, and I wish her the best with the task she has undertaken. :-)
Yet, I keep coming back to blogging. I've met very nice people thanks to blogging. I've learned things. I've entertained myself more than once. I love sharing things. I would like this blog to become a place of exchange. A place to talk, share experiences, and learn, and help each other.
These last months/years, I've been busy. Very busy. I stopped my stay-at-home mum's life to go back to work. I've had to help a dear member of my family facing serious illness. I've had to let go of what my life once used to be, thus welcoming very good things but saying good-bye to awesome things too.
I haven't been gentle enough to myself, because I had to be there for others. Because I wanted to do so much. And I've been coming close to burn-out.
Suddenly the holidays are (almost) upon me. My kids are on holiday. Time is bound to slow on its own. Life opening up to quiet evenings, star gazing, listening to crickets and nightingales, simply watching my kids playing. A true possibility of hurrying less, making new plans, breathing deeply, enjoying the moment.
We all have so many grand plans, I believe. Yet, what do we remember in the end? Most likely those moments spent inhaling the simple happiness of loving and being loved, being alive, soaking in the beauty.
I am considering shifting this blog's focus on 'the moment': sharing tiny snippets of Life's treasures. We'll see..

But for now, with the arrival of the holidays, the huge need to release pressure and indulge in sweet, self-relaxing activities, here is my call: gift swap, anyone? :-)
Very much inspired by Kristel's idea, I'd love to start a gift swap. Feeling interested by an exchange of gift for this summer? Anything that could include handcraft, drawing, playing ideas (toy-making, jewel-making,  vintage - or not! - fabrics), essential oils, reading (books, magazines ..), relaxing, sweets, cooking, sewing, activities and little things for kids too. That is an unfinished list! Well, you get the idea: a little package of fun to receive, a little Xmas bubble in the heart of summer? The gift swap I've done with Kristel was awesome! Not to mention the packages Sachi and I sent each other! That's the added bonus of blogging: giftswap is bound to be entertaining, exotic, fun. It's so great to receive little things from another place, country, region, it is such a great opening of our views and boundaries.
Let's get in touch via email or in the comments section if you are interested! I hope you will! ;-)
Namaste, friends!

Sharing

We came into this world to experience things, to grow! We can grow by interdependence in all things.

Here, I would like to share this video with you, with which I was very much impressed. In this video, she says, "Two of the most valuable things we have are time and the relationships with other people".  

Subconsciously, we want to get other people to listen to us; we want to know we are not alone; once we know that we are not alone, our heart will open wide and we will be able to send our love to others. This sharing board has proved that, I suppose. 

Following is an experience I had with my neighbors last Sunday. It snowed here (one of Tokyo metropolitan regions) on Saturday, all day long until mid-night; we had about 30cm of snow. When it snows this much (even if it is 10cm or less), we have problems in walking, transortation aspects, etc., as we are not familiar with snow.

So next morning(on Sunday), some neighbors gathered and started snow shoveling in front of the houses to avoid ice forming and to prevent slipping and falling. They were shoveling out NOT ONLY in front of THEIR OWN houses, BUT OTHERS. I also participated with them.
I heard one of them say that he wanted to do this shoveling, because he and his family owea lot to the neighbors everyday. His words made me feel warm.

Yes, we are not living alone. We owe a lot to other people in many ways.
Maybe this sense of gratitude creates a beautiful tie between people, and it brings happiness and peace to people and then to the community.

Looking at this from the global perspective(well...universal level), there is nothing we possess in this universe but we share the same boat called Spaceship Earth. So living with this sense of sharing with gratitude will bring our world peace, I think.  When I think of all this, I can't help wishing that people would stop fighting and start sharing this world peacefully.

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:)

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!

Getting a fresh start

I am so sorry that I have kept silent for a month or more.  My brain has not worked well enough to write something in English.(To tell the truth, I couldn't feel like writing even in Japanese.)  I could write some excuses, but this would be negative, so instead, I would like to get a fresh start by sharing my recent awareness and the encouragement I got from one of my friends.

Let me start from the aspect of my awareness.

"Me-centered" makes me unhappy and negative.  "Centering myself" makes me happy and positive.

When I refer to "me-centered", I am talking about an inward-looking attitude, worrying about ME being hurt, or caring about myself.  While when I refer to "centering myself", I talk about focusing "love" at the center of my heart.  When I succeed in staying in the "centering myself" phase, the world looks different; it is beautiful and bright.

Another awareness is from my father's words.  He has been suffering from lung emphysema for years.  He told me the other day that he had found a comfortable way of breathing: "breathe-out-out-and in", two times of "out" and one time of "in".  This brings me to some awareness.  We tend to "ask for" love, but I realized how comfortable it is to give love to someone or being love itself.  I've decided to give love without holding back.

I know it is not always successful, but the following quote (one of my friends wrote this in her blog) from Mother Teresa encouraged me.  So lastly, let me share it with you here.

People Are Often Unreasonable

                         - Mother Teresa

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered:

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies:

Succeed anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jeolous;

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may just never be enough:

Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis,

its's all between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

Sharing the beauty

So I've been thinking we could go a step further together, and share the beauty. All the beauties that surround us: the beautiful skyscraper in front of your office, kids laughing at a party, a music playing on the car radio, a long line of birds in the sky, a pot softly simmering on your stove, a page of your favourite magazine, a word said in a funny way by your work mate...What is your beauty today? What is making your heart skip a beat? What is sending warm fuzzy feelings of comfort to your mind and body? What is bringing a smile to your lips?

And more importantly: how about sharing it?

How about using this modest cozy place to rejoice in the beauties we can share?
It always makes us feel better, to see the beauty, and to share.
We all crave for it, I see that. Beauty, peace, connections. We never get enough, do we?

I'll make the first step, of course: in the small video below, I've included two of my favourite spots. The first one is the view I get to see every morning, the second one is a place I often go to with my kids. It is almost a draft, the videos are a little bit shaky (hastily taken with my smartphone). But it doesn't really matter.

What matters is: I love those views, the peace and joy they bring me...I'd like to share them with you.

And I'd love to get to see more joy, peace and comfort, in whatever pictures, videos, poems you'd be willing to link up or post in the comments below.

And I'd love to make a gallery here, of the beauties you'd like to share...like a peace bank we could visit any time we need a little credit :)