December 2010

There were 14 posts published in December 2010 (this is page 2 of 3).

Pegasus and the Muses, or why your childhood dream is not ridiculous and how you can achieve it

If you’ve visited this post via Reverb10, I’ll briefly answer the prompts #16 (Friendship) and #17 (Lesson Learned) in the end of this post. Stay tuned!

What’s your childhood dream?

I had a few childhood dreams. I wanted to be a cartoonist. I wanted to be a game designer. I wanted to be a rock star. Have I pursued any of them? No, not really.

  • I drew cartoons and illustrations, but I started dropping my drawing habits as I grew up.
  • I tried to learn programming and to develop a game, but I was overwhelmed by the learning process and gave up.
  • I picked up a bass guitar and practiced it for a while, but I stopped practicing when I moved to Australia. I tried to learn music composition, but I didn’t like songs I made.

As I think about these childhood dreams now, I understand why I gave up these dreams. I didn’t know the importance of making terrible first steps.

If you compare your current self with your hero, you might be disappointed at where you are now. Your inner critic might shout at you, “You are not good enough! You are not good enough! It’s a waste of time, who do you think you are, go back to where you are supposed to be!”

You don’t need to take seriously what your inner critic says to you. If you are just a beginner, you are supposed to make mistakes anyway. If your drawing sucks, draw more, because you’ll get better at drawing by drawing. If you want to create something as a beginner, aim for something small at first. If you want to be good at something, have faith and fun, and keep practicing.

It’s simple, right?

I believe it’s not too late to achieve your childhood dreams if you want to achieve them.

What’s your dream right now? If you can say it without hesitation, that’s great.  If you are not sure, think of your childhood dreams might help you find your new dream. You might be able to find some patterns and realizing these patterns can help you find what you want to pursue in your life.

Now… you’ve heard all of this before? If I stopped right at the paragraph above, this post would end up becoming just another post trying to motivate you in one way or another.

What if your childhood dream was really… absurd in the sense that it would be impossible to achieve, at least when you think about it from a grown-up’s perspective?

Here’s something I didn’t tell you in the beginning of this post.

I wanted to become Pegasus.

Yes, that mythical horse with wings. You probably know this by now, but I’m a human being and not a baby Pegasus. So, no matter how much effort I make, I can’t become a full grown adult Pegasus. It’s sad, but something I have to accept.

But, fortunately or unfortunately, I didn’t take this childhood dream seriously. I was smart and sane enough to know that I couldn’t become Pegasus, even though I wished to become one.

A while ago, I watched the late Randy Pausch’s last lecture video on Achieving Your Childhood Dreams and it got me thinking about this dream of becoming Pegasus. What I thought is this: It is impossible for a human being to become a mythical creature that doesn’t even exist in this world, but can’t there be a way to achieve something close to this dream?

I realized something – I didn’t know what Pegasus was like in the Greek myth, except how it was supposed to look. So, I researched a quick research on Pegasushood – a job description for Pegasus. In essence, Pegasus carries the Muses, the goddesses of creativity. I don’t think there’s any urgent need for me to follow everything Pegasus in the Greek myth does in order to become Pegasus. So, I decided to interpret this Pegasushood in the way I like.

My interpretation of what it means to become Pegasus is to become a person who carries the Muses, the goddesses of creativity – or inspirations in less fluffy terms – and bring them to people.

Becoming Pegasus in the literal sense may be impossible, but becoming Pegasus in this interpreted sense is possible. Of course, I need to be clear about what it means to bring inspirations to people, and how to do it, but that’s easier, if I compare it with how to become a winged horse.

If you are a Muse, I’ll carry you and take you somewhere higher. If you are in need of inspirations, I’ll bring them to you.

Your childhood dream is not ridiculous. If you give it a new meaning, you’ll be able to see how you can achieve it.

Even if you didn’t have any childhood dream like becoming Pegasus, it’s possible to give a new meaning to your childhood dreams. What interpretation can you give to them?

So, that’s all for my story about Pegasus and the Muses… now, let me switch to Reverb10 prompts. I’ll be brief with these ones.

Prompt 16: Friendship

How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

(Author: Martha Mihalick)

This prompt is tricky to answer, because I don’t let anyone change me, even if that person is my friend. I can choose to get inspired and influenced by great friends, though. In fact, I do get inspired by such friends, and I’m grateful that I met them.

I came back to Japan from Australia in September 2009, and my close friends moved to or lived in other places in Japan. So, it’s no exaggeration to say I had no friends near me when I came back.

This year, I made a number of new friends. Well, maybe not that many, but I met some amazing people and connections I made with them mean a lot to me.

The change is gradually happening…

Prompt 17: Lesson Learned

What was the best thing you learned about yourself this past year? And how will you apply that lesson going forward?

(Author: Tara Weaver)

The best thing I’ve learnt this year? It must be that I am creative and resourceful (I believe you are too, by the way). I will apply this lesson by creating more next year for prosperity and blooming!

—-

So, what’s your childhood dream? Tell me, because I’m curious. If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with your friends by clicking the like button or the tweet button below. You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or e-mail, too. I’m looking forward to connecting with you!

Photo: Max London

On action, appreciation, and 5 minutes

In this post, I will answer the prompts 13 (Action), 14 (Appreciation) and 15 (5 minutes) of Reverb 10. It’s not too late to join Reverb10 and reflect on your year 2010 – join us and share stories with other participants!

Prompt 13: Action

When it comes to aspirations, its not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step?

In the previous post, I wrote about my possession. The last time I counted how many things I have, I had about 126 things. Now, I’ve decided to let some of them go, including this T-shirt I am attached to very much. The story behind this T-shirt is about my 18 year old self, my friend Tatsuya and this hardcore punk band called Reach the Sky, from Boston. 8 years ago, Tatsuya brought Reach the Sky to Japan on a DIY basis, and I got to be involved in their Japan tour as an interpreter/tour manager/person-to-have-fun-with-them. I still remember this great adventure we had and this T-shirt means a lot to me.

But I’m letting it go. I cut out the logo of Reach the Sky printed on the T-shirt and will keep it, though. The T-shirt will go, but memories will stay.
I’ve put this T-shirt as well as other items in a garbage bag and it’s ready to be collected tomorrow morning. I will minimizing physical as well as mental distractions from my life and focus on creation. This is one of the very first steps.

If you are interested in having a lifestyle in which you minimize stuff and maximize your experiences, you can start identifying things you don’t need, but you possess, and start eliminating these things as well. All you need to do is to take action, to take one small step.

Prompt 14: Appreciate

What’s the one thing you have come to appreciate most in the past year? How do you express gratitude for it?

One simple thing that I started believing this year is that I have enough resources that lead me to almost anywhere I want to go, metaphorically or literally. It may take years to get to where I want to go, but I know I can make one step forward, another step forward and yet another step forward. What I already have is enough for satisfying what’s required to make this step. By resources, I mean everything and everyone that comes to my life. I appreciate them for helping me move forward.

The question of how I express gratitude for them is a tricky question, but I suppose I can simply live my life with this attitude of appreciating everything and everyone that makes my life enjoyable and that way I can express gratitude for them.

Prompt 15: 5 minutes

Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

My 2010 in 5 minutes. What do I want to remember? This year was probably a year I experienced a big shift, and slow as well as fast. It was slow in the sense that I felt frustrated with how little progress I made when I could make more progress. It was fast in the sense that I nevertheless had great experiences, such as unblocking my creative blocks, learning Argentine Tango, climbing Mt. Fuji, winning at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Asian Open Championship, making a lot of new friends, going to Kyoto and other small things I can’t write in 5 minutes.

So, that was my 2010 in 5 minutes of writing.

This prompt makes me think… I wrote 101 words for my 5 minute summary of 2010. If I live for another 60 years and write a 100 word summary every year, then these 60 years can be summed up in about 6000 words? But then, I feel I’d rather want to be able to sum up my life with something simpler like “I had an awesome life and I love you all”.

By the way, I’m having an awesome life and I love you all.

—-

What’s your thoughts on these prompts? Tell me, because I’m curious. If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with your friends by clicking the like button or the tweet button below. You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or e-mail, too. I’m looking forward to connecting with you!

On minimizing, maximizing, and body integration

This post answers the prompts 11 (11 Things) and 12 (Body Integration) of Reverb 10.

Prompt 11: 11 Things

What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?

(Author: Sam Davidson)

A while ago, I decided to count how many things I have according to the rules of the 100 thing challenge, and it turned out that I have 126 things. I’ve been mentioning this in my Reverb10 posts, but I’m keen on minimizing stuff and maximizing experiences. I will start eliminating some of the things from my posessions, and the list of the things I need to let go can easily include more than 11 things.

Perhaps minimizing stuff alone will help me focus on experiences more and I will definitely use this opportunity to work on these two things. By letting go of those things, I can create room for new experiences, and that’s what I want more of in 2011.

Prompt 12: Body Integration

This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?

(Author: Patrick Reynolds)

There are some memorable moments I experienced this year. In those moments, I felt alive and present. If I’m to talk about one moment when I felt the most integrated with my body, it must be this.

In September, I competed in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Asian Open Championship in Tokyo. I fought 5 matches, and the moments I experienced in my first match was when I felt the most integrated with my body.

That day, I had to be at the venue before 1pm. Since I had some time to drop by a morning open mat session at my gym, I decided to go there and to have a few light spars. The reason is simply because I’m a slow starter, and I knew the first match would be the toughest in the sense that I would feel more nervous than other matches. But with this morning session, I prepared myself well.

When it came to my first match, I was calm and looking forward to having fun with the match. I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted to win the match. So, as soon as it started, I played my game. I pulled him into my favorite position and choked him quickly. In the end, it took me less than 30 seconds to finish my opponent.

It made me feel as if I wasn’t there at all. My mind and my body were focusing on one mission and integrated with one another. But I’m not sure if there was a cohesive me in those moments, because I feel as though there wasn’t any me at all. I was alive and fully present by being completely absent.

My mind and my body were focusing on one mission and integrated with one another. But I’m not sure if there was a cohesive me in those moments, because I feel as though there wasn’t any me at all. I was fully present by being completely absent.

Regarding the idea of “being yourself”, my favorite artist Taro Okamoto says that trying to be yourself is what keeps us stuck in the same shell, and we better aim to live as a human. This claim needs a lot of clarification for sure in order for it to make sense to many, but I believe it is intuitively comprehensible to those who think about the kind of states this prompt mentions. Perhaps my self-less state was such an instance of being a human, though it was more like being an animal in a good way.

Or perhaps just a being, whatever that means.

Is there any reason why you should define the new you by who you were in the past? I’ll leave this question open, but my intuitive answer is that there isn’t such a reason. (And of course, do we need to define who we are at all?)

—-

What’s your thoughts on these prompts? Tell me, because I’m curious. If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with your friends by clicking the like button or the tweet button below. You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or e-mail, too. I’m looking forward to connecting with you!

Photo: Cameron Cassan

On being beautifully different, party, and wisdom

Today’s post answers prompts #8 (Beautifully Different), #9 (Party) and #10 (Wisdom) of Reverb10. I’ll talk about #9 and #10 first, and then #8 in the end.

Prompt #9: Party

What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

(Author: Shauna Reid)

This prompt reminds me that life is like a carnival. There’s no reason why our daily lives can be a party. For living this way, you don’t need to get drunk or to do activities that you’d do at an event that is structured according to the norms regarding what we call ‘party’. It’s more about your attitude that matters. Having said that, I haven’t shown up in my daily lives with this party attitude that much this year. So, stay tuned for 2011.

Prompt #10: Wisdom

What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

(Author: Susannah Conway)

The wisest decision I made was to show up at Ben’s Cafe in Tokyo for the very first meeting of the Artist’s Way Tokyo group this January. This first meeting led me to a 12 week of creativity Tetris as well as another season of it. I have been mentioning this book a lot in this blog, but that’s pretty much because it’s a great book if you actually do the exercises in it. The next group will run from January 2011. If you are based in/near Tokyo and curious about giving it a go, check out this Facebook page or contact  Soness the facilitator.

Prompt #8: Beautifully Different

Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful.

(Author: Karen Walrond)

There is nothing that makes me different from others, because I, like you and everyone else, am different by definition, or so I believe. I’ve been thinking about it this way for a while. But, if you insist, perhaps the fact that you are there makes me different from you. Likewise, the fact that I am here makes you different from me. After all, you are not me and I am not you. If you were me, then I wouldn’t be different from you. If everyone else was me, in the very literal sense, I wouldn’t be different from them.

But then, we are all alike for this difference by definition that we all have respectively. I’m inclined to think that similarities are more important when it comes to making connections with people, by the way. The basic idea is that we make connections by finding similarities between us. Learning about differences is fun, but what we really get us closer is that similarities we find in such differences. I’m going to elaborate this idea more in another post.

What I do that makes people light up? Perhaps my Cheshire Cat smiles?

And if what makes me different is what makes me beautiful, then it is you that make me beautiful. But beautiful in what sense?

Let me throw away an analytical mind for a moment. I’ll be happily non-sensical here.

My non-analytical answer is this. My life is my art, and I can perhaps claim that I am the platform of my art, because… well, I carry my life with me, or my life carries me. How I create my art is by experiencing this life as much as I can. Amazing people like you, as well as amazing experiences, contribute to stories, sounds, visions and everything else that go into my art. If I am beautiful, then that means my art is beautiful. If my art is beautiful, then it’s due to this whole art and each element of it. They are beautiful in the sense that they make people curious, wonder, examine and reflect on their feelings in one way or another OK, I just made up that sense of beauty, but I like it. Are you still following me? In short, you make me different, and my being different from you makes you curious about who I am – well, maybe not everyone of you, but some of you, I hope. And that power of creating curiosity is what I’d consider as an ingredient of beauty. But whether we’d come close to each other is, in my view, depends on similarities we find in one another.

You are beautiful, by the way.

—-

What’s your thoughts on these prompts? Tell me, because I’m curious. If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with your friends by clicking the like button or the tweet button below. You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or e-mail, too. I’m looking forward to connecting with you!

Photo: milena mihaylova

Where I discovered a community of awesome individuals in 2010 and what I will make in 2011 – #Reverb10

In this post, I will reflect Prompt #7 of Reverb10 – if you are curious, check out Reverb10’s website here.

Prompt #7: Community

Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?

For me, the most powerful community I experienced this year was… Twitter. I joined Twitter few years ago, but I hadn’t used it actively until the end of 2009.

The most significant event that made me want to use Twitter more was to meet up with Gwen Bell (@gwenbell) in person when she visited Tokyo. Yes, that Gwen who co-organizes #Reverb10 (Hi Gwen!).

My Twitter usage became more active since then, and I’m happy to say that Twitter has been a very effective tool to find and to connect with like-minded people.

Let me mention some of the people I got connected with via Twitter this year and introduce their awesomeness to you.

  • Fernando (@HelloNavi) is a photographer extraordinaire, hailing from San Diego, currently based in Japan as an English teacher. He’s a great guy to talk with and I recommend you to take a look at his photos.
  • Rémi (@remino) is a French Canadian, web developing wizard. He has a great voice and I wonder when he will become a voice actor. If you need someone to do an extreme makeover on your website, say hello to him.
  • Sarah (@semisara) is one of the most energetic people I know. She is a journalist&photographer&translator with killer smiles and some kickboxing skills. Check out her website here.
  • Emi (@gyorome) is a fashion photographer&university student and I love the way she is. What fascinates me about her is how she can connect with people and do amazing things. There’s a lot to learn from her style.
  • Alice (@alicetokyo) is “an Italian heroine fighting monsters in Tokyo”. How awesome is that. Seriously, she’s awesome. She lives and studies at university in Tokyo, and writes blog posts for Vogue Japan. Her English website is here.
  • Etsuko (@EtsukoT) is specialized in coaching on international marriage as well as on parenting. We translated Chris Guillebeau’s “A Brief Guide to World Domination” into Japanese together. If you need some coaching on international marriage or parenting, talk to her!

****

Now, let me talk about the community I want to create in 2011.

If you’ve been a reader of this blog for a while, you probably know that I want to make the world more romantic. In 2011, I will create a community of people who believe in their potentials and possibilities and seek beautiful moments in life. I’ve started writing a mini manifesto on this subject, and am planning to release it in the beginning of 2011. So, stay tuned if you are one of such people.

Your life is your art. My life is my art. Let’s create something amazing together.

—-

If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with your friends. You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or e-mail, too. I’m looking forward to connecting with you!

Photo: wwarby

Having a sense of wonder, letting things go, and making – #Reverb10

What was 2010 like for you? I am reflecting on my year 2010 by participating in Reverb10. In this post, I’ll answer prompts #4 (Wonder), #5 (Let Go), and #6 (Make). You can find other Reverb10 stories by searching the hashtag #Reverb10 on twitter, or you can check the Reverb10 official site.

Prompt #4: Wonder

How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?

(Author: Jeffrey Davis)

My answer to this question is somewhat circular, but I cultivated a sense of wonder by having a sense of wonder.

What helped me have a sense of wonder, though, is my desire to experience beautiful moments in my life. You can’t make beautiful moments happen and perhaps the beauty of these moments would be lost if you could control everything about them. Having said that, however, I believe you can make it easier for you to notice such moments  by focusing on what’s happening around you (or perhaps by worrying less about what’s not happening).

I’m not a guy who has a sense of wonder about absolutely everything, because I do prioritize some things higher than others, but I choose to be curious about things I want to experience.

Choosing to be curious is the key, I believe.

When I met Mr. Satorialist at his meet&greet event in Tokyo this April, I asked him what he sees through his camera. “Ignorance is a bliss,” he said. He finds something interesting about people he wants to take photos of and he makes up stories about them. He sees what he wants to see in these people.

I plan to cultivate a sense of wonder more in 2011. Having a sense of wonder is, I believe, one way to make the world more romantic.

What are you curious about? What do you want to experience?

Prompt #5: Let Go

What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

(Author: Alice Bradley)

As far as the practice of letting things go is concerned, I actively let go of things this year.

It all started as part of exercises in The Artist’s Way, and I continue to let go of things that don’t fit in with the kind of life I want to lead. I got rid of old clothes, books, CDs, old photos, documents that I don’t need to keep, other redundant items, creative blocks, worries, negative thoughts and the like. I’m sure these things will keep coming back like Tetris, but I’m also sure that I can handle them without accumulating them next time.

So, I will keep letting go, because my ideal at the moment is to own only what’s necessary. The motive is not so much about becoming a minimalist, but it’s about maximizing experiences by reducing physical as well as mental distractions.

It’s possible that nothing is going to stay with you forever. I can’t see any reason why you should try to keep it to yourself when it needs to go. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t welcome it when it comes to you, by the way. You can appreciate it when it’s there with you and let it go when it needs to go. It’s simple as that.

(Now I’ve finished answering up to prompt #5 of Reverb10, I sense Reverb10 helps me prepare for letting go of 2010! You were a beautiful year, but go… go!)

Prompt #6: Make

What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

(Author: Gretchen Rubin)

If we are referring to something substantial here, my answer will be my NaNoWriMo novel, but the last thing I made in a more straight forward sense is stirfried eggplants. I used vegetable oil, eggplants cut into finger size&shape, miso paste, mirin, and soy sauce.

There are some things I want to make. I want to make a mini e-book that explains the concept of location independent business and introduce people who run such businesses to Japanese readers. I want to make a manifesto about making the world more romantic. I want to translate Leo Babauta’s e-book Focus into Japanese. I will make them happen.

But now I’ve mentioned food as an answer to this prompt, I came to have baclava and apple crumble in mind as well…

How about you? What’s the last thing you made? By the way, it’s important to note that you don’t need to set the hurdle too high when we talk about things we made. If you doodled something, you made something. If you cooked a meal, you made something. If you became friends with someone new, then you made something.

Or say hello to me and you’ll have made a new connection if you are new to this blog!

—-

If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with your friends. You can subscribe to this blog via RSS or e-mail, too. I’m looking forward to connecting with you!

Photo: *Zara