Reading I Ching

It finally got down to 32C, which is sorta normal highest temperature of Tokyo summer. Having experienced a week long of over 35C days, it feels cool! Hey, we human beings are not that weak. Our body instinctively knows how to deal with heat ;)

It's windy today and pretty much bearable without air-conditioner. Just a fan circulating the air is fine unless you work. If concentration required, oh no, you gotta have your air-conditioner on! I've gotta start working on an interview this afternoon. My air-conditioner will be on duty soon.

I'm still reading a Chinese classic book called "I Ching" which Pat Martino introduced me at his interview a couple of weeks ago. The one I'm reading is an introduction version for beginners and of course Japanese translation. I find it pretty interesting.

It's basically about Chinese augury established so many moons ago which is also popular in Japan. But the fundamental philosophy behind it is "yin and yang." I kinda knew it but reading the book gives me different perspectives on life and society surrounding me. "Ebb and flow" is the universal repetition in any ways no matter how good your intentions are. In other words, a combination of ups and downs is inevitable. Being swellheaded and skimping to whatever you've achieved usually come right after the peak.

If, however, you come to regret about what you've done and you haven't done while things were at your disposal, it's the beginning of calling in another luck. And this yin time becomes soil borne for another leap forward. Imagine how annual plants grow and die. It's an easy metaphor to figure out how this concept works. There are always seeds for the next cycle of life to keep the species going.

We have internet to learn a lot about what we don't know otherwise. Very convenient as long as we have tendency to question what is right and what is wrong. But for some people, it could be the toxic water to kill the roots while they are still in the phase of growing. Too much information is like too many colors on a palette. It becomes black if you blend them all. We must choose certain colors to paint our own picture of life.

Since I'm still half-fledged, it's not difficult for me to accept ready-made achievements generally called as "success" I won't be able to achieve in million years. Those achievements often introduced by media are only designed for certain people. I don't long for them either because they usually fall right after the peak. I like my ups and downs to be small enough for me to deal with. Just keeping my expectations realistic is my key to stay happy and guess what? That works great for me :D

I got a long letter (about 20 page handwritten one!) from a reader who read Mick Karn's autobio I translated a couple of years ago. She read it at a bookstore, hasn't read it through, hasn't purchased a copy because she is jobless but wrote me what is in her mind triggered by the book. I think she only needs someone to share her struggles with. I hope writing that letter to me would have helped her focus on what she needs.

I guess it's all about what change you can accept to make your life work great for you. My life changed a lot in the past 3-4 years coincided with the translation work on Mick Karn's book. I just went with the flow but at the same time, I sorta knew I made a small decision every time I noticed a possibility of sinking in the deep water. No big success nor fortune do I strive for - a moderate life is what I really want and I think it is right now :)