Today I 'd like to write about a   story  'the Fall of Freddie the Leaf '  by Leo Buscaglia,Ph.D,a native of California.

It is a tender,and simple story about  a leaf named Freddie,and is an inspirational allegory of the meaning of life.
I will write down some excerpts and summaries  from the book....


Freddie the leaf had first appeared in Spring,as a small sprout on a branch near the top of a tall tree. He was surrounded by hundreds of other leaves just like himself....but soon he discovered that no two leaves are alike,even though they were on the same tree.
They had grown up together,learned to dance in the spring breezes,bask lazily in the summer sun and wash off in the cooling rains.

Freddie's best friend was Daniel, who was the oldest and wisest. 
Daniel explained about a public park, the tree ,roots ,birds,the sun, the moon,the stars and the seasons.

Freddie loved being a leaf. He loved his leafy friends,his place high in the sky,the wind that jostled him about,the sun rays that warmed him,the moon that covered him with soft white shadows.

In summer many people came and sat under Freddie's tree.
Daniel told him that giving shade was part of his purpose.
"What's a purpose?" Freddie had asked.
"A reason for being.... to make things more pleasant for others is a reason for being."

But Freddie's summer soon passed. 

It vanished on October night.He had never felt it so cold.
Daniel explained that it was Fall and that winter would come soon.

Almost at once,the whole tree and the whole park was transformed into a blaze of color ; 
yellow, orange, red, purple , gold.
How beautiful they all looked!!

"Why did we turn different colors," Freddie asked," when we are on the same tree?"
"Each of us is different.We have had different experiences. We have faced the sun differently. We have cast shade differently. Why should we not have different colors?" Daniel said matter-of-factly.He told Freddie that this wonderful season was called Fall.

One day  a very strange thing happened.The same breezes that ,in the past ,had made them dance, began to push and pull at their stems.

" It is what happens in Fall," Daniel said."It is the time for leaves to change their home."

"No matter how big or small,how weak or strong. We first do our job.We experience the sun and the moon,the wind and the rain.We learn to dance and to laugh.Then we are gone.
But Life lasts forever and we are a part of life."

"Then what has been the reason for all of this? Why were we here at all if we only have to fall and go?"
"It's been about the sun and the moon.It's been about happy times together.It's been about colors in Fall.It's been about seasons .Isn't that enough?"

That afternoon,in the golden light of dusk,Daniel let go.He seemed to smile peacefully as he fell.
"Good bye for now,Freddie,"he said.

The first snow fell the following morning.It was soft white and gentle; but it was bitter cold.
Freddie found himself losing his color,becoming brittle.
At dawn the wind came that took Freddie from　his branch.It didn't hurt at all. He felt himself float quietly,gently and softly downward.

As he fell,he saw the whole tree for the first time,and he knew he had been a part of its life and it made him proud.

Freddie landed on a clump of snow. It somehow felt soft and warm and comfortable.
He closed his eyes and fell asleep.
He did not know that Spring would follow winter and that the snow would melt into water.He did not know that what appeared to be his useless dried self would join with the water and serve to make the tree stronger.Most of all,  he did not know there asleep in the tree and the ground,were already plans for new leaves in the Spring.


-----  I don't remember when I first read this story, but I remember it was in a bookstore and I cried  reading it.

We are here in the cycle of life,enjoying the delight of Spring and Summer,feeling  the beauty of Fall, bravely  and calmly accepting the cold of winter and return to where we came ,but life continues....
I thought I should spend this given period with gratitude,
and how much courage I am given to know that everyone is different.

.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9IN7qpM1dEY

 My  father passed away on Wednesday January 16 2008.
The funeral service was held in Osaka.
It was filled with beautiful music.

I stayed in Osaka for 2 days and came back home fatigued and overwhelmed by 
a terrible sense of emptiness.

I was all  alone home,and wanted to talk to someone but couldn't connect to anybody.
Usually I talk  to my sister but I had spent with her and just parted,so anybody else,
but couldn't  find anyone .

I slipped into bed,I felt myself  very fragile.I needed someone stand by me.
In the darkness of my bedroom,I turned  on my CD player.It started to play.
The sound was totally different from before.It was as if  someone were beside me and talking to me.
I was clinging to  the sound like a helpless child, and gradually fell into sleep.

This morning I read a fortune telling ,which said the more I am consulted , the more good luck I will have,
and I received two phone call for consultation from who seldom call me.
After talking to them I felt well, fortune telling is sometimes right.

This evening,my  student gave me a box of soft chocolate as a souvenir of her school trip to Hokkaido.
I had it with hot tea after the lesson.It was delicious.It had the taste of  a warm heart.






http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lRnBtvjuYRg

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pe-MIDDfckw

 It 's January  2008 now.Every new year's day ,I would make a new year's resolution,but not  this year until now.
I even didn't write a blog since last November. If I make an excuse,it is because December is the busiest month in Japan,and I  went  out almost every day during the new year holidays . I went to see movies," the namesake",  a wonderful Indian movie,on Dec,28th, and then on 30th, "Chacha", a nonfiction story about  three beautiful Japanese samurai princesses who lived their lives strongly, in the Warring  States period ,around 500 years ago,
on Jan.1st,Sannomiya, 2nd,Shrines,3rd,,Shinkobe.

Then ordinary days started,Gym,Taichi  lessons, three or more times a week, ,work, a small new year party,some sending work for my family etc....Maybe I need more calm days....

Today is a national holiday,Coming -of -Age Day,which is for people who become twenty years old in the course of the preveous year. I decided to stay home all day,and in the morning I enjoyed some sewing over a cup of coffee in front of a warm gas heater.

Last  year was a special year for me.
1.      I met  splendid Indian people and they generously give me their company.
2.      I started using a computer,even blogging , thanks to my good friend.
3.      I made a good progress in Taichi,passed one test,and started Sward Taichi,and other special classes.
4.      I made friends with some nice Japanese  women in my  Harborland class.
5.      My daughter changed her apartments and  part time jobs.
6.       I visited  Hokkaido and Okinawa.

This year, I would like to....
1.    Study English more because last year I didn't have enough time to study it and computer.
2.     Make friends with books , movies, music,poems,so that I can learn about life.
         Last year ,the number of my  Taichi classes increased a lot ,so I became busy ,I didn't read much.              
3.     do what I have to do but haven't done yet, even little by little.
4.     go to bed earlier, by 0:00.
5.     See beautiful things and appreciate them,  stars, flowers,fireworks ,the ocean,the moon,sunsets...

I hope this year will be a good year to all of you and me,and to our Mother Earth,of  which I am one particle. 

  
 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_IXX5gFBkfY

 Yesterday when I watched TV, a song ' Nothing else matters ' by Metallica was introduced.
In fact I listened to the song for the first  time , and so I still don't understand it  very clearly.
but the commentary on it attracted  me a lot..  It was as follows.

"Nothing else matters , means....
There are something so important , and those important things you really have to take seriously,
and things that aren't very important , you don't have to worry about them so much.
Nothing else maters but what's important to you, but you be true to yourself , be true to what  you
believe in, and nothing else matters."

I always try not to care about  trifles,and see what is really important,and often the important things 
are invisible, "You can see clearly only with  your heart " , as said by Saint-exupery.

Metallica sings,
" Life is ours, we live it our way. 
All these words I don't just say.
And nothing else matters. "

Life is short, I want to appreciate the time I am given, and live my life to the full with gratitude to people 
around me,  and  beautiful nature , which I come from and go to.



 

It's nice autumn season now, I see beautiful autumn leaves here and there.I go take taichi lesson every Monday at Harborland,near JR Kobe station,and on my way there , I walk from subway Okurayama to JR Kobe station,along the side of Minatogawa shrine,an old historic shrine.

I like Okurayama,because it is a serene peaceful place with a library, the medical department of Kobe university ,the Kobe cultural hall, a big gymnasium, some court houses and old schools and the shrine.
In the morning I see only a few people walking,and it is one of the moments I love.

When walking by the  Minatogawa shrine, I see some very old big trees , and every puff of the wind, countless autumn leaves flutter to the ground...I feel peaceful.

However one thing I  miss is ginkgo trees. I don't see many of them in Kobe.
I lived in Umeda,Osaka when I was a child,and there is a big street called Midosuji from Umeda to Namba.
On the both side of Midosuji,there are long rows of old big ginkgo trees and in autumn,it was all yellow around, and even as a child I think it was so beautiful.It was marvelous.

Usually I saw the scene at around Nakanoshima, an  island in the Yodo river near Umeda.Though it is much bigger than Kobe,it was a little like Okurayama , with an old library, the city hall ,a cultural hall,court houses,some newspaper companies but without a shrine. Oh, I remember a beautiful stone bridge named Suisyoubashi (crystal bridge) over the Yodo river.Someone said the scenery is like around the Seine river in Paris.

Though many old magnificent stone buildings are rebuilt to modern concrete buildings  now , because they were in danger of collapse, they are still alive in my mind.I thought I didn't have a hometown, but now I know I have one.It is not a beautiful countryside with a lot of nature, but It was still lovely.
I am happy I have some nice steady places deep in my mind.

Time fries...recently I ' ve never been there, I love living in Kobe, and in Kobe I met many wonderful people,
my family,my friends,....they are all my treasure, thank you Kobe,and  thank you Osaka.

 My Taichi teacher has been to China to study Taich i deeper  and he told us about  what he learned there.
One of the things he said was about  how to move our body .

In Taichi,it is important to create Taichi type body and mind.He compared our body to a tree,and said we should move in Taichi having a concept of  "  根 [kon] 中[chuu] 梢[syou]".
 根　means  ' root ', 中 means ' trunk', and 梢　means ' treetops' .

Let's say if we move our hands,  the power of the movement starts from our feet, through  body ,  arms then reaches  hands, which makes the movement smooth and powerful.
It is like the roots of a tree draw in the water, and the water goes through the trunk, to the treetops, which makes the tree lively.

I haven't yet  totally understood what its deep meaning is , but I guess  it means that  the foundation is important,and it is important  not only for taichi movement but for everything.

I think I will try to master that moving method and become a  better taichi performer and at the same time, would like to think what is the foundation of life, that is, what is important  in life. 

 The other day,I  found a nice poem in my student's high school textbook. That is a poem 
about friendship,and both my student and I were deeply moved by it. I will write it below,

                        you 've got a friend

                                                     by Carole King

                                            When you're down and troubled ,          
                                            And you need some loving care, 
                                            And nothing nothing is going right,
                                            Close your eyes and think of me,
                                            And soon I will be there    
                                            To brighten up even your darkest night.

                                            If  the sky above you
                                            Grows dark and full of clouds
                                            And that old north wind begins to blow
                                            Keep your head together
                                            And call my name out loud
                                            Soon you'll hear me knocking at your door

                                             Ain't  it good to know that you've got a friend
                                             When people can be so cold
                                             They'll hurt you, and desert you
                                             And  take your soul if you let them
                                             Oh,  but don't you let them  

                                            You just call out my name,
                                            And you know wherever I am ,
                                            I'll come running to see you again,
                                            Winter spring,summer or fall,
                                            All you have to do is call,
                                            And I''ll be there.
                                            You've got a friend

I always try to be happy, and to be strong, and I know how much friends lifts my spirits up.
I really thank my friends for being there and being  themselves.
I am happy  whether we are similar  or  we are different.
If we are alike,we can enjoy the same things  together,and if we are different  I can learn 
new things from them.I am really happy I have friends.

"He who is different from me does not impoverish me-- he enriches me.Our unity is constituted 
in something higher  than ourselves--in Man.....For no man seeks to hear his own eco,or to find 
his reflection in the glass."   ( Fright to Arras )