A multitude of reasons sent me on my first trip to Japan. Many people and events intertwined making it impossible to pinpoint what actually started it all. Was it out of curiosity what I would see? Was I hoping to gain some wisdom along the way? Or was I just tired...and seeking an escape from reality? Regardless of the tipping point...my story goes like that...
A few years earlier I became a Reiki practitioner - a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. Mikao Usui, a japanese buddhist started it, and I wanted to go to his land, to submerge in his culture, the culture of Asia - so much spoken of, yet, perceived differently by each of us.
Shiatsu is another Japanese alternative medicine approach I'm very fond of - one that treats the reasons for an illness, not the subsequences...How wise!
My love for nature and beauty lead me to Ikebana- the Japanese art of flower arrangements...
Further on, Origami - the Japanese art of paper folding, which is as much fun as creating beauty...
The people involved in this trip are a few...
Diana - best of friend without which my first months in Tucson, AZ would have been unbearable, but with some kindness and a few jokes, she made it all much easier.
Keita - my Japanese boyfriend at the time, who taught me to accept our cultural differences and to love him despite not always understanding him.
Saori - a quite Japanese girl, who was always willing to hear my problems, yet never shared hers. And I'm sure she had some too.
With an on-going divorce at the time too, I went to the beginning of the day, to the land of the Rising Sun, hoping I'll find what was missing... tiny pebbles to fill the mosaic of my days, in a more harmonious way, with more light and hope in the future...
...to be continued...
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