This was an odd day.  Like I wrote about yesterday I had some unexpected time off from the usual hustle in the middle of the day.  On my way back I paused in front of the walk way up to the buildings.  There they were, just shining clearly in the winter sunlight.  I paused.

I melted into the moment and then squeezed the shutter button. It was only a moment.  But it was more than sufficient to soothe my soul and make my day a little bit better.  A mediation on seeing.  Seeing what is right in front of our eyes.

The interesting point is i usually walk away from these buildings.  I have never walked towards them before.  That in itself was a new way of seeing the usual in a new way.  All it took was a 180 degree turnaround.  And, poof, there it was, as if I had never seen it before.

In a way, I really hadn’t.  That is the challenge I seek on a daily basis.  How do I take what I see day after day and process it into something that I haven’t seen before.

A lot of it has to do with letting go of all of my preconceived images, and just to be in that moment of time with myself and my camera.  We work in harmony with each other with in the boundless area of the environment.  Just be.

The day was beautiful out.  The skies were so clear it felt as if I could see clear across the ocean all the way to San Francisco.  It is one of the amazing things about being in Tokyo in the winter time, is that the air becomes so clear that the skies are boundless.  On a day like today I had to just get out on my mountain bike and just pedal around to see what could be seen.  I needed to get out and breathe in the cool dry air, and fill my heart with better tomorrows.

Eventually I made it all the way to the edge of Tokyo bay.  The end of the road in Urayasu, and just gazed off into the curve of Chiba peninsula as it makes its way down to Tateyama.  I could even see bits of Kanegawa that borders on Tokyo, that is just how clear it was.

Now, if only I could make my mind as clear as the skies.  At times it seems like all the clouds flood my brain and heart.  I try hard to stay focused on what really matters in this crazy world.  There is so much nonsense we all have to go through that distracts us from what really matters.  It is times like this that I am so thankful to have family that I can reason with, and for the Creator to watch over us all.

I have faith that tomorrow will be better.  That tomorrow might be far off, but it might not.  I prepare for the worst, and pray for the best.  I know that the path I am on is the right one, and if it isn’t that I will be wise in my choices to keep on the path that I am suppose to be on.

Stare off into the boundless horizon.  Follow those curves.  Breathe deeply and let that brain fog clear away.

The saloon kitty was wailing away as I was stepping back to Ichikawa station.  I couldn’t ignore the meows even if I had wanted to.  So, I pulled out my little friend and snapped a few flicks.  This kitty has appeared before a few moons ago.

Also, while I was waiting to hop on the bus at Kasai station, I looked up and saw the bridge puffing these beautiful clouds out into the blue heavens.  It gave me pause and wonder on this crisp January day.

The typhoon of the decade is suppose to be headed to Tokyo, and will hit late tonight early Thursday morning.  Wet, sopping wet, is the wet that has persisted for the past 3 days, soon to be 4 days.  I have been forced to put on a jacket to keep warm.  Summer now seems like a faded distant memory.  Although I know in my heart its not that faded, and its not that distant.

I know most you probably had enough of me raving on and on about the Hawaiian islands, but I cant help myself.  It just felt right, without any of the sticky mess that is a modern metropolis like tokyo.  So it is here that I leave you with this . . .

It Pours Sunshine in My Heart