The seed of ‘Contemplation’
From 2018 to 2021, I called Japan home.
I lived a rather peaceful life in the cities of Tomioka and Tsuchiura. It was here that I found myself realizing the importance of Contemplation and its power to change my dead ends.
And boy, did I have many!
Just before I moved to Japan, to work as an English Teacher, I was utterly demoralized from a series of health issues/diagnosis and other personal turmoils. I was depressed. I was lost.
Japan gifted me the space of calming solitude, away from all the chaos that I was suffocating under back in my birth country — Malaysia. I was away from my big family, friends, and the familiar comforts that blinded me. I needed a new perspective in life and I found it in Japan.
Was I running away from my problems? I thought I was. But reflecting back, I just needed a space to catch my breath. A quiet moment to re-evaluate my standing in life and the person I am in all of it. By uprooting myself and moving to another country, I was able to find my way back to the core essence of who I am.
Being a reflective learner. I do most of the learning when I step away and reflect in a space of calm solitude. Back in Malaysia, this process happens in the wee hours of the night, between 11pm to 4am, when most are asleep.
But since moving to Japan, this newfound freedom and ample time alone gifted me a whole new level of experience with what it means to reflect. This season of undisturbed contemplation ushered so much into my awareness. I took my time, deciphering my sense of self (feelings, behaviors, situations, etc.) in the past, present and future. Re-defining what life meant to me and what it could possibly be.
It was a divine experience and one I would not have achieved back in Malaysia due to the established social entanglements of being born and raised there.
Through this unrestrained exploration, I was able to reach a greater sense of peace in this world.
This season’s epiphany was something I wished to commemorate and so comes the birth of the ‘Contemplation’ series.
I was honored to be part of the festival celebrating Tomioka’s rich history…
I admire the women who wear kimonos, it is definitely an art form.
I had bruises all over my body from the wrapping and wearing of it 😂.
Every chance I got, I would go and enjoy a meal at a cafe, restaurant or izakaya. Each culinary experience was so meticulously charming.
Be warned, once you eat strawberries in Japan, you’ll not be able to eat it anywhere else 🤣 The sweetness of it is unrivaled.
I have not been able to eat strawberries in Malaysia or the US.
I love walking around in Japan. I could walk for miles and miles, which I did and thoroughly enjoyed. I couldn’t ride a bike as my sense of balance is horrible!
It was a safe place for me ♥️.
I do miss the delicate beauty of the sakura trees…
I taught at a high school where these trees lined the compound ♥️
I would pass this house on a hill, every time I walk to my favorite spicy miso ramen spot…
I met the love of my life in Japan ♥️
For our first holiday together, we visited this little beach (Higashinamekawahikarimo Park).