Enjoying Simple Pleasures

These days have been treating me well, perhaps to make up for the Nine Week Silence. I went with friends to a beautiful organic Japanese restaurant in Koide a few days ago. It was located in a gorgeous old fashioned Japanese building, complete with a pond and traditional garden. Inside, the ambiance was amazing in every detail, and they offered things like sakura scones and imported pastas and soya. The menu sounded so delicious cover to cover that deciding was an extremely painful experience. I ended up with a Tempeh Burger, and was not a mite disappointed.

Today, my cycling buddy messaged me shortly after class and we met with our bikes to face the ‘chance of rain’ forecast. It was perfect cycling weather, except for the unusually strong winds which actually pushed us around a lot! We went to the park and explored every corner. I bought some veggies at my favorite veggie vendor, after which the two of us sat out by the pond taking in the view. Luckily, she was up for fuwa-fuwa dome after a while, and we spent half an hour or so enjoying the bizarre trampoline and laughing like children. It was very refreshing. Check out the quality of this cell phone shot from the park!

After riding around the park for a bit, we caught a bite to eat for lunch at Budou no Hana and then headed back to campus. We took a totally new route neither of us had explored before, and found an enormous and beautiful old sakura tree, as well as a whole huge line of younger trees planted not 15 minutes from campus. They were all in bloom, and looked amazing against the still snow-capped mountains.

I think after today we have a pact to go to the park at least once a week. I’m looking forward to next time already.

The Side Effects of Hope

The term has been kicking in to full gear as I attempt to narrow the direction of my thesis and the sakura trees of Snow Country are finally convinced that Spring is imminent. My frenetic pace has put my calendar in a jumble while other aspects of my life fall in to place. My fiance ships off to basic training within a day and we share different degrees of simultaneous nervousness and excitement. Working part time at the library has been even better than I imagined it would be, and even the dull activity of shelf reading has led me to titles I am glad to have happened upon. Among other things, I’ve been reading the book Resonant Leadership by Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee.

According to Boyatzis and McKee, people who create a sustainable resonance of hope:

• Demonstrate dreams and aspirations, but are also in touch with those of the people around them.
• Are optimistic and believe in their ability to make a change.
• See the desired future as realistic and feasible.

The book describes hope as an “umbrella” for positive emotions, which in turn are good for us, for our work, and for our relationships. The following are all quotes from Resonant Leadership.

※

“In a hopeful state, we have more physiological as well as emotional resiliency, and we are mentally and physically prepared to deal with challenges.”

※

“Positive emotions impact our openness and cognitive flexibility, problem-solving abilities, empathy, willingness to seek variety and persistence. [...] Hope is an emotional state accompanied by clear thoughts about what the future can be and how to get there.”

Right now I find that observation particularly pertinent and helpful. Boyatzis and McKee advocate the use of visualization techniques to envision the positive or desired outcome.

※

“We can all apply visualization to cultivate hope in our lives. Besides triggering mindfulness and a sense of renewal, such exercises can help guide our decisions and future actions. The key is that the vision should evoke in your mind a specific, clear mental pictures of the future – one that you find inspiring and that you believe can happen. A sense of purpose or meaning in your work often follows naturally from such images. And the positive emotions that are generated as you think about your desired future are actually powerful drivers of behavior.”

※

It is reading like this that are needed to balance the mood of some other things on my current list, such as Broken Bodies, Broken Dreams.

Recommended Reading:

• Destructive Emotions by Daniel Goleman
• Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion by Richard Boyatzis & Annie McKee
• Broken Bodies, Broken Dreams: Violence Against Women Exposed joint publication by United Nations OCHA and United Nations IRIN

Motivation amidst melting snow

The snow is melting in earnest, and we’ve had a run of four or five warm days in about a week. The imminent arrival of full blown Spring has done a lot to brighten the mood on campus, and motivated me personally to get some things done that I had been putting off in the previous term. It has also meant that it is easier as well as more enjoyable to get outside! It’s great!

I’ve started watching The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos lately, and have subscribed to The Hour’s video podcast feed. I highly recommend The Hour, and since subscribing I’ve been rummaging through the archives in my free time and watching a lot of really engaging and stimulating interviews. Among the loads of quality interviews featuring interesting guests (ranging from pop stars, to politicians, from scientists to fiction authors) I particularly enjoyed hearing what Margaret Atwood had to say in her interview late last year. Her books feature prominently amid what is occupying my attention.

1. Margaret Atwood‘s latest release, The Year of the Flood takes place in the same universe and during the same time period as Oryx and Crake, one of my favorite books. She has made her book tour vegetarian (‘no fur, feathers, or hooves’), as well as tracked and offset her carbon footprint. Learn more here. In a perfect world my library would include each and every one of her books.
2. My kindle has been dusted off after a few months of neglect. The weather has finally begun to resemble something like spring, and I spent an afternoon outdoors reading Alex Jones’ Losing the News. The innovative display technology of ‘digital ink’ is so readable and easy on the eyes, even in the powerful noontime sun!
3. I have this funny, city style bike called a mama-chari but that hasn’t stopped me from going for a lot of rides lately. Although the ‘rides’ I take cannot compare to the serious, often all day deals my dad would take, I’m enjoying these excursions a lot! A friend and I have been capitalizing on the warm weather to explore neighboring villages, and I’ve been thinking we should organize a casual ‘bicycle club’ to take weekly rides.

Acronym Overload

Here at IUJ we often speak in a language of acronyms. See that one? IUJ is the International University of Japan. We have acronyms for each school (GSIM, GSIR) and the degree programs: IRP, IPSP, IDP, MA and Ebiz. Each office has an acronym, such as OSS or ACSC. The library is MLIC, the students working there are LSAs, the snack lounge is the CNP and the dorms are SD1, SD2, SD3 and MSA. Our various student government bodies are IRC, IMC and GSO. Also, most classes end up with acronyms, such as IPE or ICD.

This has been a glimpse in to the strange language spoken by the students here in Urasa. Until next time…