Land of the Rising Sun: Prologue

Japan.

Whatever the stereotype, it's not true. Something wonderful and beautiful rests in Japan. The sacred sanctuary of the temples, the restful nature of the mountains, the sleeping dragon called Mount Fuji. Where do you begin? Is it fair to say that I have an uncompromising viewpoint of the land of sunrise? What did I learn, and what can I take away from this place?


This is the first place I set my foot on that was foreign. My anticipation had built up to this world and now my eyes had only to look upon it. I took every opportunity to soak up everything, everything from Takoyaki (fried octopus tentacles in a delicious batter), to the burial grounds of the 47 Ronin. America is different in contrast primarily because of the drive to constantly go, constantly produce, always be awake, always be aware of any and all opportunity. I will never shake the feeling of the quiet peace that reigns supreme here. As if the Japanese are aware of a unifying circle of time and progression, where there is a place for everything, and everything is in it's place.


That's beside the point. I mean to catalog in this ongoing post series, the notable events that transpired in my time here in japan. The first place that inspired a dramatic change in the way I structured my encounters with people. The place that challenged my faith and fear, and reminded me that death is an endless cycle contributing to rebirth and that above all else, inner peace is paramount.

A Side Note...

I also maintain the blog NE + Ultra, and I have composed poetry on there for a very long time. In the spirit of shameless self promotion I ask you give this much older blog consideration as well, since I have recorded my emotional response in verse. I cherish this blog and make every attempt to keep up with it. Of course some times I fall short, but you can trust when the mood strikes me, I will be writng as often as I am swept up in poetic inspiration. So...take a gander and give me your thoughts/hate mail/this is stupid comments. I welcome all. Complete links for it will be posted in my header section....later.

Introductions are in order.

My life.
Is still mine for now, it's wonderful and altogether intense. From this point onward, I plan to mobilize my writing into ideas and thoughts that can hone my skills and bring me to the forefront of published opinion-I mean, published something or other.
I would like to first address what this blog is dedicated to. Stories, in any shape and form I can muster. Stories from all my adventures (sexual adventures is in a different blog...coming soon.) I will be twenty-eight years old in a few months, and I want to write down everything I have done in my past twenty-eight years of existence. The places I've gone, people I have met, and ideas I have crashed into, as well as less than great moments where I've found myself close to the edge. I will be addressing topics that require an open mind. Any questions you might have about the nature of these things can be privately messaged to me.

I present this blog to you as a testament to the potential of the human spirit. I hope you will leave this blog with a little inspiration in your pocket, if nothing else, a little inclination as to what could happened if you chose the path less traveled. All in all I see my life as a holistic collection of great things; of moments when I made a spontaneous decisions, rode it along, and became a better person because of it. I've felt normal, felt extraordinary, and felt hopeless. Ultimately I want to contribute to the world by bringing those with uncertainty and sadness, comfort in the fact that there are so many wonderful things to explore, opinions to hear, and that you are most definitely, with unwavering certainty....not.alone.

So without further ado, here is a collection of stories for you to enjoy and do with as you wish.

-Sigma