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My “office space” when I’m in Japan. Well-lit, computer and internet access, and as many Calpis, coffee, and assorted drinks as human could tolerate.
Preparing for Take-off
The house-sitter is secured. Passport is in order and samurai is ready to go to Japan. My bags are not yet packed but somehow I’ve found a few minutes to read my trashy self-help book, 毎朝１分で人生は変わる：One Minute, One Action in the Morning will Change Your Whole Life. Challenge #7 tells the reader that whatever energy you give to others is the energy that comes back to you. [If your Japanese is better than mine, please correct me in the comments, and excuse my punctuation because I am on a Japanese keyboard in manga cafe.]
The Challenge
「元気」はあげればあげるほど自分に返ってくる。 The more good energy you send out the more good energy comes back to you. Miyake-san goes on to add:
人に好かれたかったら、まずは自分がひと好きになる。そうすれば、いつしか人に好かれるようになる。元気になりたかったら、まず自分から目の前の人を元気にできるような行動を起こす。すると、いつの間にが自分が元気になっている。
Samurai translation: If you want people to like you, you need to start by liking people. Once you start doing this, people will start liking you. If you want to be `genki` [energetic, excited, happy], you should be happy and excited abou the people in front of you. After a while, you will also become `genki.`
So Far, Not So Bad
Going to the airport was a perfect opportunity to test this new habit. Usually, I am cranky as hell as soon as I have to take off my shoes and go through security. It was still annoying, but I made a decision to send out positive vibes. (Yes, I know, so 60s!) I had a cornucopia of moments to turn beyond annoyed at people to sending out good thoughts. 🙂
If sending positive vibes doesn’t work then this will have to do.
Does it work? I don`t know, but I realized how much time I spend spinning out negative thoughts and doubts. What a waste of energy! If anything, making a point of sending out good thoughts stops the cycle.
Stop the Cycle of Negative Thoughts
The day I left for Japan, I had the pleasure of being at a friends wedding. He was marrying another man and it was great to celebrate the beginning of that journey with him, his partner, and friends and family. At the end my friend explained that there were people who could not make it to the wedding for various reasons and he asked us to send healing and positive thoughts in their direction. My friend happens to be a Buddhist, but you don`t have to subscribe to any creed to practice this. Golden Rule anyone?
I don’t know if I will remember to continue this habit, but it can’t hurt. Let the summer of positive vibes begin, man!!!