So, today was my last day in Japan. I have had a great experience here, and will be doing a lot of reflection for a while. I did not write in this blog as much as I had anticipated, and I think that was partly due to the difficulty of describing experiences while experiencing them. Of course I don’t mean something like writing a blog while visiting a temple, but even later in the day when there was time to blog, i was still in the middle of generally experiencing Japan. So, I think i will write the majority of blog entries in the following weeks as I begin to synthesize my experiences over here. I hope the entries I did write were insightful and meaningful, for I tried hard not to compose a list of just “First I did this, then i did that, and that was really cool.” That would also be a waste of my time as well as yours.
I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with a wide array of people over here – many of them not even being from Japan. I’ve befriended people from Israel, England, Scotland, Korea, Australia, Holland, China, Taiwan, Ireland, Canada, and France. My interactions with the Japanese have been nothing but pleasant. They are the most unique culture I’ve experienced on this planet so far…I would be joking myself if I could describe it right now with even partial accuracy, so I shall describe my impressions of them over the next few weeks.
I depart in 14 hours and I’m looking forward to being back at home, for I am not Japanese, nor will I ever be. However, I feel like I will return as a more cultured American (yes, that almost sounds like a paradox.)
I think it is of utmost importance to always allow our minds to be open to new ideas and experience is usually the best way to help pry our minds open. Getting in a daily routine can lead to this “knowing” mentality where we just expect the same thing each day and perceive things in the same way. Zen Buddhists have the expression “beginners mind” stressing the importance of never “knowing” something, for if we know something, we tend to judge other things based off of what we know, even if it’s in the most subtle of ways. Everything in this world is constantly changing, and if we are to feel connected with life, we must allow our minds to be open to this change and not set things in stone.
Thanks go out to my percussion professor Fred and his wife, Asian Art professor Dr.Lillehoj, Zen Buddhism professor Dr.Strain, the helpful people at the Japan Travel Bureau for providing me with a wealth of helpful information about Japan, its people, art, and history. This trip would have been half as exciting without the rich knowledge they transmitted to me.
Lastly thanks to my Mother for giving me birth, so I could enjoy a more lively experience in Japan 