Shirlay Maclain

Shirlay Maclain is an American Oscar actress and a wonderful book writer. I've just started reading her book "Dancing in the light". This is about her life after she published a worldly sensational autobiographic book "Out on a limb".

I bought "Out-" back in 2004. 6 years ago. I was struggling agains the reality I faced and even myself at that time, and just wanted to get out of those dilemma. That was a beginning of my own spiritual journey. Thanks to the book, many understandings about many unknowns were brought to me.

I could have read the second one right after I'd finished the first one, but I didn't. Maybe "Now" is the right time to read it and get new understandings.

Over and under groud level

Speaking of the construction works around Osaka station, where is the recession of Japanese economy???

The photos show that it may take some more time to fish, but getting clost to its completion. The construstions are currently still going on not only over the ground level, but also under the ground level. Each access to here and there which connects the Osaka station with some othere commercial buildings and department stores under the ground level are rapidly being made.

I'm happy to see this progress of Osaka central area, and do hope that it is a chace for Osaka to take a good role of the second largest city in Japan and of an International city as well as Tokyo. However, I wonder at the same time if its big renovation plan really meats "Supplis and demands".

Anyway, I'm looking forward to its grand opening coming some time very soon.....

Destiny

A few weeks ago, one of my old friends suddenly sent me an e-mail saying that he was planing to visit Japan soon. I would have been stunned so much if I hadn't spent any time of how Destiny worked in life, and hadn't experieced any of the events related to it.

We haven't met and completely lost contact for almost 10 years. I dare didn't ask him what made him to find me on the Internet, but something inside his feeling trigered him to do so. Maybe that can be called Destiny. An acient Greek philosopher, Heracritus said,

"Everything flows....."

Many years ago, I did the same to find a person on the Internet, but it did't work well to me. Acctually, I found the person, but it unfortunately wasn't a good reunion. I took me a while to overcome it with sorrow. Maybe it just meant that I was against the flows at that moment.

This event, however, made me a change. I've been motivated to serch the meaning of life since then, and become a seeker. Now I reckon that my current job as a tour leader is one of the ways to serach in life travelling around the world.

Everything is meant to happen which gives us a hint, or a sign to make us realize someting imporant. With a correct comprehension of it, we could head for the next right direction in life.

That is how Destity works, I believe.......

Japanese Izakaya

This is my favorite Japanese Izakaya restarurant in Umeda, Osaka called "En" which means probably "Connection", "Relation", or maybe "Fate". With nice atomsphere, various kind of food sellections and reasonable price, I can always have a good time there with my friends.

Maybe there are many Japanese Izakaya restaurants around the world. I sometimes have a chance to visit Japansese restaurants in abroad, but they are unfortunately less in quality of atomsphers, food and service. I won't say "All", but most of them are so.

My Aussie freind and I used to go out for dinner at En, and I took a friend from Germany there the other day. I wonder how they would feel when they dined Japanese foods in their own countries.

Miroku

I've recently downloaded a picture of this beautiful wooden statue as a wall paper for my mobile. It is one of national treasures in Japan, called "Horin Miroku" which is placed at Koryuji-temple in Kyoto. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dry%C5%AB-ji

Everytime I flip out to opem my mobile, the beautiful smile always pops out to comfort me. I wonder if I could have this kind of peaceful smile even in a minuite, but impossible. This kind of smile comes only from those who may have reached some state of enlightment...

Working as a tour leader, I see many many people in the world, and sometimes encounter beautiful smiles like this statue. It is different from Kid's smiles whick are made of innocence or pure. The smile I'm talking about comes from the state of mind which overcomes any kind of emotional feelings such as joy, fun, anger, sadness, and so on.

Supposedly the length of life last 12o years, my age has just reached only 1/4 of it. I'm just expecting too much to become like Miroku... I've still got many things to learn in life.

Life with dogs

My family seems to be difficult to live without dogs.

From the top on the left, Kai, Wasuke, Himawari, Qooga. All are sooooo lovely. Each of them has his or her own unique charactor. They live now with my sisters, and so I often visit to play with them.

Unfortunately, I live in a tiny flat, and am not allowed to have a pet. Of course, I shouldn't have any, and coundn't take well care of them at this moment because I travel a lot, but I'm determined to have my own one in the future....

Kilim

What a long tour!!! 15 days in total. 3 nights in Greece, one night in a train, 6 nights in Turkey, and 2 nights in Egypt.

We flew with Egypt air. 14 hours to Cairo via Luxor, and 2 hours to Athen. In the aircraft A340 to Cairo from Kansai, Osaka, one or two toilets always ended up with a sign "Out of order"..... Passengers made a long que in front of available toilets. Other tour leaders and I said with sighs...

"AGAIN..."

Anyway, it's been 11 years since I visited Turkey for the first time. What a long interval!!! Look at a Kilim that I bought. Isn't it lovely??? I bought it at a carpet shop in Turkey with a special discount for tour leaders. The original price must have been cheeper than the price I paid, but don't care. I liked it.

Life with flowers

Can flowers or plants can really affect one's mind and the energy of place? I believe... Yes, they can.

Anyway, it's been months since I started decorating my room with flowers. My life is to travel, and it seems difficult to take well care of them all the time, but I do my best while I'm here.

Everytime I come back from trips, I go to a flower shop near by. My favorite choice is Lilies. I always pick up ones with strong aroma flagrance like Sorbonne.

Each day I watch them very carefully if they are ok or not. Taking care of flowers is a good oppotunity to make me realize that we are all live creatures.

Now I do this because I want to feel that we always recieve a mercy of nature which we tend to negrect in this modern life.