Wisdom

Prompt of the day: wisdom - What was the wisest decision you made this year, and how did it play out?

Let me pause and reflect... This year I have been doing a lot of things, according to my own standards. The key word here is "doing". Because it all boils down to one thing: this year, I have decided that it was time to stop thinking and start doing.

Which is why you have seen on the blog a wide variety of activities such as:
- taking a course - evening classes -  in business management. I guess deep down I've always known I was not made to sit at a desk all day every day, working for someone else, and I've been preparing... My fear has been keeping me chained to this desk, but its voice has been slowly fading...
- travelling to Japan and Canada after years of dreaming about it;
- signing up for yoga teacher trainings and not chicken out;
- actually agreeing to teaching a one-on-one and not chicken out;
- writing - a lot;
- attending the European Summit for Global Transformation in Amsterdam and launching a second blog right away;
- new: applying for a freelance translator job with a translating agency - ok that was yesterday, so maybe it will work out, maybe it won't, but at least I've tried.

Now let's see how all this will play out in 2011!

For those of you stumbling upon this, playing catch up, and not knowing what I'm talking about, check this out, you might even want to join :) :

http://www.reverb10.com

HTML linking has been playing weird lately on this little blog, can't seem to be able to link directly, but that's better than nowt :)

Music Wednesday - I'm grateful

Today, although we Europeans don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for songs that can be sung everywhere and anywhere, no matter what language you speak.




(and come on, an all-girl Japanese pop-rock band? Bring it on!)


(oh, and please check www.epicthanks.org, and my latest post over at http://thechangeuwish.blogspot.com - yep that one's mine too :))

Tokyo Part 2 - tradition

Yep, yogis' favourite flower, the beautiful lotus

Not only did we see the "bright lights, big city" that Tokyo is, we also got to see some older gems embedded between the tall buildings and the public transportation network.

The purification fountain, important step not to be missed before going further in the Meiji Jingu sanctuary

First the Meiji Jingu sanctuary, dedicated to Emperor Meiji, and a Shinto shrine. Shinto is the oldest religious tradition in Japan, in which there is no one God but a myriad of spirits, nature-related, called Kami.

"Prayer tree" at Meiji Jingu

The most important Kami is Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Fellow yogis and yoginis, when you salute the sun, send a prayer to Amaterasu, can't hurt ;-)

Shinto is the most important religion in Japan, along with, of course, Buddhism.

"Red Lantern" shrine in Asakusa

Buddhism, contrary to Shinto, was imported to Japan. It appeared in the 6th century via China and Korea, and despite small conflicts at the beginning between the two traditions, they have been "countrymates" for centuries now.

The Great Buddha of Kamakura, 13,35 meters tall, impressive and so peaceful!

A vast majority of Japanese people believe and happily mix the two traditions. Our guide Eri, a middle-aged Japanese woman who spoke a verey good French, prayed in all the shrines and temples we visited. After all, the more you believe, the more your are protected right?

Onto a whole different subject but it belongs to tradition to:

Traditional meal in Kamakura

Now, confession time: you see this lovely bowl of sashimi, with all kinds of fish and fixings? I ate it all. And I had even more fish during our stay.
It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it was to me, as I am a vegetarian and have been for about a year and a half. I know finding the right food for us would be difficult, especially as we went to traditional restaurants with our guide, so we decided to just let go and adapt.
I didn't go vegetarian because of yoga, but I think it fits in the way I practice yoga, this is part of my way of respecting ahimsa. That said, what also fits in my way of practicing yoga is to be alive and not die from starvation. Food was offered to me, it would have been plain rude to turn it down, not to mention how hungry I was after all the walking, and I ate it. And to be completely honest, it was the best fish I've ever had. Ever. Melt-in-your-mouth fish. I figured that if I was to have fish for the last time, it would have to be in Japan, of all places. The only thing I couldn't bring myself to eat was meat. The mere sight of meat made my stomach pull an ice-skating programme, triple axels and all.
I don't feel guilty, I feel ok, and now that I overdosed on fish I'm back to vegetarianism.  And it suits me fine.

Other confession: I stayed off the mat most of the time. Easy, given that technically I didn't have a yoga mat, but the carpet of the room floor at the hotel. My practice consisted in enjoying, seeing, feeling, spending quality time with Lovely Boyfriend and just taking care. Great practice if you ask me :-)

Tokyo Part 1 - modernity

So, Tokyo, Japan...
As you know, Japan has been a dream of mine (and Lovely Boyfriend's actually) for, like, ever. And we decided this year would be the year we would go. And we went!

We were there for a little over a week, we flew to Tokyo on August 4th and came back last Friday, August 13th. I wont bore you with how long the journey was and how uncomfortable plane seats are when you really want to sleep (and I'm short. Can't imagine what it's like for tall people).

We stayed in and around Tokyo, but there was so much and so little time that we just walked and walked all over the place. And then we did some walking, and we saw this:

Ikebukuro

View of Tokyo from Sumitomo Building in Shinjuku

Harajuku

Shibuya by day

Shibuya by night

Akihabara - there's a place full of these things, with I don't know how many floors...

This place is amazing. Truly. It is crowded, loud, lit all day long, and yet... yet you never feel stressed out or overwhelmed by noise, it is a really strange feeling. The Japanese society is a very complex one, with so many codes and rules, yet this is the place where you enter a shop thinking you will find there some comics you know or some fun stuff, and then when you go up one floor every shelf is covered with porn (live or animated). The people here are so polite and respectful that the control freak inside of me has started glowing with contentment.

We loved every second of it, and it all went too fast. But we are already making plans to go back there, probable when we win the lottery :-)

Part 2? Traditional side of the city, plus a few confessions, so stay tuned!

Teaser

Hello dear friends, here I am, back in Brussels. Already, some might say (this means me actually), I can't believe this trip is over, it all went so fast. Forgive me for not posting a proper recap right now, but I am still tired from the journey back and I really need to sort out all the photos. I'll give you a glimpse on what I saw to keep you waiting:

Buddha Kannon, Kamakura, Japan

Also, don't worry I will not leave you without some reading to do: check out The Magazine of Yoga's post on yours truly's blog, while I get some rest and try to stop blushing and pinching myself :-)

Be back soon! 

Sayonara for now

So, today is the day. The day when a lifetime dream is being fulfilled.
We are so excited, you cannot even begin to imagine! We're leaving our apartment in less than 20 minutes, first to catch a train to Paris' airport Charles de Gaulle, where we will meet our group, and then we're flying to Tokyo, landing tomorrow at around 2pm local time (yay jetlag!).

I won't be posting from there (mind you, not that I post everyday anyway), but I'll make sure to be back with plenty of photos and amazing experiences to share with you.

I don't know what my yoga practice will be, I guess I will stick to love, contentment, and soaking it all in!

So for now, have a great time, and I'll be back with some funny and exciting stuff :-)

source

An end and a start

July already... I celebrated half 2010 with this:

Times 2. Love champagne! 

also because I got this:

Yup, that would be my diploma, I'm smarter and I can be a boss now. Oh and no, the strawberry and cherry stickers didn't come with it, I'm just trying to hide my name in the most graceful and colourful way possible. Lame, I know, but this is me then.

"Grande distinction" means I can be the boss of the world, no less.

This marks the end of my evening course, in the best possible way. New knowledge, new friends, new confidence, new job in the end, it all works out nicely.

It is also the moment to start a new chapter, one I'm beyond excited to open: yoga teacher training. I won't lie, I am also a little bit nervous. Just a little bit. I am expecting a lot and at the same time I don't know what to expect. All that I know is that I'm about to embark on what will certainly be a life-changing journey! I will have a first glimpse with an immersion weekend next week, and then starting September I'll be going to yoga school once a month (which means spending a whole weekend in London once a month, my bank account has been rushed to the hospital for depression but with some support it will make it through the training, and I will be a happy London camper, yes yes yes. I mean, London baby!).

To add up to the fun, to help transitioning between business management evening course and yoga teacher training, Lovely Boyfriend and I will be taking a break in the form of a trip to Japan next month, fulfilling a life-long dream. Could it get any better?

What a year it's been so far, and what it will be!