Words from a life lived in journey — from quiet Nara, Japan.
Over the course of nearly fifty years, I have travelled to and lived in many different corners of the world. Now I find myself living quietly here in Nara.
In this peaceful city, going about my days with a heart full of gratitude, I would like to share the lessons and wisdom I have gathered along the way — one thought at a time.
Life is a long, long journey. Let us enjoy this journey together. 🌿
Word 028
Rather than lamenting what you don't have, be grateful for what you do. Notice how many things you already have around you.
Standing on the open hillside of Wakakusa-yama, what seems like "nothing" turns out to be filled with everything.
Word 027
Did someone else lay the tracks you've been walking? No. It was you — after all — who chose this path. There was no road before you. Where you have walked, your own road was made. Your life is your responsibility.
The trails of Yoshino-yama wind upward, and no one walks them for you. Look back, and you'll find a road that only you could have made.
Word 026
Happiness is not something you become — it is something you feel. Time is not something you have — it is something you make.
Standing before Horyuji's 1,400-year-old pagoda, two quiet truths become clear — the capacity to feel, and the will to make time.
Word 025
"What matters is not how many great things we do, but how much love we put into what we do." Even in the same place, with the same people — each day is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.
Ganjin of Tōshōdai-ji crossed from China six times, lost his sight, and still gave his whole heart to every person he met.
Word 024
We see the world by passing it through ourselves as a filter — and so we judge others by our own values. But those around us have their own. Whether or not we are aware of this makes all the difference.
Two pagodas at Yakushi-ji — same sky, same precinct, yet entirely different things to different eyes.
Word 023
"Heaven never gives a person a problem they cannot overcome." A grandmother's words, and a challenge: trials and hardships are the whetstone that sharpens us — so why not play with them?
Like Wakakusa-yama, scorched each winter and reborn each spring — brighter than before.
Word 022
"Always there by your side, always smiling with warmth. Even when it hurts, that smile never wavers. With more experience and wisdom than anyone, yet humbler than anyone. I want to be just like you."
A Jizō standing quietly in Nara's neighborhood — the simplest teacher of all.
Word 021
"In life, there is no such thing as 'what if' or 'if only.' This is not about viewing such thoughts positively or negatively. The point is simply: they do not exist. Our lives are unfolding exactly as they were meant to."
The stone lanterns of Kasuga Grand Shrine — standing for centuries, exactly where they were meant to stand.
Word 020
"There are only two ways to turn a 'constraint' into 'freedom': overcome it, or let it go. One is addition. The other is subtraction. And in truth — the easier path is often subtraction."
At Kasuga Grand Shrine's pond of release — a thought on what we carry, and what we were never meant to hold.
Word 019
"There is no single 'right answer' for everyone. There are as many right answers as there are people." Denying others to assert your own truth is nonsense. Respect the answers and justice of others — and the world will change dramatically for the better.
Kasuga Shrine and Kofukuji — gods and Buddha standing side by side in Nara for over a thousand years, proving exactly this.
Word 018
"Heaven knows. Earth knows. You know." A warning against wrongdoing — yet also the warmest reminder that no matter how alone you feel, someone is always watching over your quiet, earnest life.
The stone lanterns of Kasuga Shrine have stood for a thousand years — not to be seen, but simply to be. Nara is that kind of place.
Word 017
"Avoiding failure. Fearing failure. Despising failure. — All of these push success further away. Because success is born from nothing but failure. Let's dance with failure more!"
The temples of Nara — built through countless failures, standing for 1,300 years as proof of what lies beyond them.
Word 016
"Your limits are not set by age, gender, the circumstances of your birth, or any outside force. Your limits are set only by you. Refuse to set them — and you can keep evolving, forever."
Nara has stood for 1,300 years — built by those who never decided their own limits.
Word 015
"The question is not 'Can I do it, or can't I?' The question is 'Will I do it, or won't I?' If you try, you can. If you don't, you never will. It's that simple."
Standing still on a Nara shrine path in May — and realizing that every step forward began with one simple decision.
Word 014
"Nothing in this world is to be taken for granted. If there is one thing that is 'obvious,' it is this: the fact that nothing is obvious. Even being alive in this very moment is not a given. Gratitude."
An ordinary morning in Nara — or was it really ordinary?
Word 013
"We tend to imagine ichi-go ichi-e — 'one meeting, one lifetime' — as something grand. But in truth, it fills every ordinary day, every passing instant. Today, and this very moment, will never come again. Let us live each day with the spirit of 'every day is ichi-go ichi-e.'"
A small boy from Europe, a platform in Nara, a smile and a wave through a train window — a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Word 012
"Another cold, bitter night has ended — and this morning, I woke. Whatever hardship you are carrying right now, it too will end. No night lasts forever. Take one small step toward change — and the dawn will come sooner than you think."
Waking before dawn on a cold morning — and finding a quiet light at the edge of the curtain.
Word 011
"Thank you." "That was delicious." In your ordinary moments — say these words to your family, friends, bus drivers, restroom cleaners, and everyone whose life touches yours. Your small, quiet word can make the world better. And it will enrich your life, too.
One morning at a station restroom, I said thank you to a cleaning attendant — and the morning felt a little brighter.
Word 010
"Thirty years ago in the US, I met a retired Brazilian man who had come back to learn. I was moved. Now I am nearing his age — and I feel it too. My journey of learning will continue for as long as I live."
Watching travellers from around the world pass through Nara — a memory surfaced from thirty years ago.
Word 009
"Your life is made of the words you use. Try saying 'thank you' in the small, ordinary moments of your day. Before long, 'thank you' will overflow — and when it does, your life will change."
Walking the stone paths of Nara in May — one quiet word of thanks, and a stranger's face softened.
Word 008
"If you are struggling in a life full of worries — do not suffer. Great insight and understanding await you. A life without doubt holds no awakening. — 大疑大悟"
In Nara, where visitors never stop arriving from around the world — four characters from a friend in Taiwan.
Word 007
"You are the creator of your own life. Therefore, you bear responsibility for it — and at the same time, hold the freedom that is yours alone. One who understands their own responsibility and freedom can also respect those of others."
A Golden Week morning in Nara — pausing in a corner of the ancient city.
Word 006
"How does one become kind to others? The key lies in two things: empathy and imagination. Those who have walked through great hardship develop the power to feel what others feel — and to wonder what lies in another's heart."
Before sunrise in Nara — a quiet question in the stillness of early morning.
Word 005
"Life is a journey to find yourself. Fill yourself — and you will find kindness for others. The key is not Ego, but Self."
Watching deer graze at Kasuga Shrine — a reflection on self-discovery.
Word 004
"The journey itself is travel. Sometimes, take the local train — and enjoy this journey we call life."
A stormy morning in Nara — a reminder to stop rushing.
Word 003
"The answer lies within. Stop looking outward — look within. There, the heart grows light."
A rainy morning in Nara — sitting quietly with oneself.
Word 002
"Why do we feel anxious? Because we do not know. Our journey of knowing continues, ever onward."
Nara — the ancient heartland of Japan — and the stillness of early morning.
Word 001
"Change yourself, and others will change. Change yourself, and everything will change."
A quiet morning in Nara — and fifty years of life, reconsidered.