Thursday, May 22, 2008
Fearless Solitude
I love traveling in Japan, and I especially love traveling on the train. As the rice paddies fast fly by and the faint figure of oneself vaguely reflected from the window pan emerges quietly on top of the sceneries outside, a perfect moment of contemplation is born, naturally and unobtrusively.Took mom to Izu the past two days. A typical onsen trip at a nice, serene, Japanese-style onsen ryokan somewhere in the middle of nowhere and some full-day sightseeing the next day. 修善寺 is quite nice and well earns its reputation for being the 小京都 of Izu. Walking down the 桂川 and the bamboo forest, I became so deeply nostalgic of Kyoto and the good old days spent on trekking through the ins and outs of that lovely city that once so warmly hosted me for a school year.
I've almost forgotten what it is like to be a lone traveler on the road who depends upon nothing but a guidebook (no Lonely Planet, thank you), some last-minute planning scrambled together on the train ride over, basic human instincts, and most of all, a curious mind, a relentless heart, and an adventurous spirit that are fearless of the unknown and unexpected.
Perhaps it's about time to take on a journey of self-REdiscovery. Part of it has to do with having just finished reading "Eat, Pray, and Love" but part of it is I really need some quietude of the heart and mind to listen better to the voice of the Almighty and the voice of my own. Whether they stand in conflict with one another or in accordance - perhaps a trip as such could help me figure that out better.
And then to deal with the rest of life with much more wisdom and calm.
Chinese like to use the word 閉關, but I'd much rather seek a 閉關 state of mind via the means of a lonesome journey.
If only I could find a creative way of making such a trip happening within my packed schedule.
梅ちゃん at 12:08:00 AM
1 Comments
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at 6/13/08, 5:47 AM
said... Hello! I'm Yennan Lu. Remember me? I suddenly jumped into your blog when I was surfing! :D
I am also in Japan now. I'm in Kobe now, and before that, I was living in Kyoto for 3 years :)
if you have time, please write email to me if you like.
And sorry for my poor English.XD
quoilu1028@hotmail.com
Yennan Lu