Japanese Faces

I've been much busier than I wnated to be for the past few weeks. Even my leisure activities have some main objective (which is actually a good thing, considering that life on earth does not last forever).

Tonight, after many chores and an errand, I'm searching for pictures of Japanese people for a book that I'm writing. I'm not going to use the picture in the book, but it's just nice to have a visual of the character you're working with.

I think Asian people are quite beautiful and very interesting in deed. Flickr has a great pool of photos of Japanese People from all walks of life. Very cool and worth a look.

Aarrrgh!!!

I've been o'r the ocean, sailed all seven seas,
I've covered the planet while pushed by the breeze
But none of my travels have lead me to see
A pirate more brutal than Abby McGee.

No redder a head, no colder a heart
Found I in all of my travels from start
Nor ever within my most terrible dreams
Saw I any woman like Abby McGee

A lovely young baroness, soon to be wed
To a duke from the North in his brother's own stead
But Oh a sad day, for the young duke was dead
A group of sea-farers had robbed him and fled

And so from that time, dear, poor Abbey became
The horrible person we all know by name
Her blood-thirtsy vengence brought dark-clouded fame
With news of unfairness, cowardice, and shame.

She killed some for money, she killed some for fun
She killed young and old, til the fortnight was done.
And after she killed, she found death not enough,
So she burned and she sank all their vessels of stuff

So underhanded her terrible crimes,
The ways that she tortured both body and mind
Mercilessnes was the way of her kind
Yet merciless found her at her dying time.

She died an old woman, a running from death
Swaering with all of the stregnth she had left
But oh! what suprise as she breathed her last breath
That hell was an itch to shed blood, yet unquenched.

And that is the story of Abbey McGee,
The once gentle woman who turned to be feined.
And may it be warning to both you and me:
Forgivenes of others is vital for peace.

Well. This is it. I can't believe that I just wrote something that un-edited. I'm having trouble publishing it. No!!! Don't press the publishing button! No!!!

Building Walls

"I really don't mean to intrude. I mean I saw your sign," he said. "But I have an extremly important question to ask you.”


Manami had already spent most of the morning on the little grass pad of her top-floor flat, a thick book in hand. She had built her own little private park on her patio so that she had no reason to leave her home. Every weekend was spent in her miniature version of Central Park, where she would escape her life in page after page after page.

So when the regular background sounds of the city were interupted by "A-hem..." right next to her, Manami nearly dropped her book. She turned around but didn't see anyone. While her head was still turned the same little voice spoke. "Hello." She looked down to see a tiny little bug staring up at her. It was no ordinary bug. Its eyes were big and bright, and it seemed to be smiling right at her.

"I really don't mean to intrude. I mean I saw your sign, he said. “But I have an extremly important question to ask you.”

“If you didn’t mean to intrude, you wouldn’t be intruding now would you,” she glared at it before turning back to her book. “This is private property.”

He didn’t seem to mind her ill-temper, in fact seemed to have expected it. “Yes, I’m very sorry about that, Manami. But I’ve been sent here to ask you a very important question.”

She sat up and turned around to look into his giant eyes. “Sent here by whom? And how do you know my name?”

“Well, I’m really not at liberty to disclose such information at this moment.”

Manami was pretty surprised, yet a little irritated at the same time. Building walls had been an unconscious obsession for years. Thousands of dollars, dozens of hours spent creating her own little perfect, private world where she would not be disturbed. She had taken a telecommuting job. Her finances, insurance, utilities were all handled online. She ordered delivery so much that she knew the menus and phone numbers of every restaurant within a 20-mile radius by heart. Inside was safety. Here, she’d never be hurt again, here in the splendid enclosure she’d created.

Then along came this little spider, or flea, or whatever it was.

“Ask so you can get out of here!”

He continued to gaze at her with a big smile. “Well, I just wondered if, perhaps we could be friends.”


***
Sometimes, it’s ok to feel safe. No matter what your past has taught you, not everyone is your enemy.
***


Nothing in life had prepared her for this. In all her 26 years, Manami never remembered feeling quite so warm inside. Ten million suns seemed to burst inside her, melting the icicles and snow from her heart. She couldn’t respond.

“Umm, you don’t have to answer right now if you’re not ready. But I just thought I’d ask now and then maybe later … Well, I guess I’ll check back later if you think...”

“Yes.”

“I beg your pard…”

“Yes, we can be friends.”

The words felt strange, and the voice didn’t even feel as if it had come from her mouth. She felt a little embarrassed. But the little bug was obviously very happy. “Wow. Great! I mean… wonderful. Okay. Uh… can we maybe set up something to do together?

“How about lunch in a couple of hours?”

“Sounds fantastic!”

“Good.”

“Yes. Very good.”

“See you then.”

“Yes. See you then.” And he flew away, glowing like a lightning bug.

Dishes

She poured in the automatic dish-cleaning powder and watched as they began to be scrubbed and rinsed. "All this work," she murmered, the dishes continuing their job right before her eyes.

I've got mountains of laundry and dishes to do today. And after that, I've got lots of cleaning to do. And after that there's cooking, which of course will be followed by more cleaning. Honestly, I don't feel like doing much but sleeping today.

Fortunately, I've tried keeping the habit of, whenever I feel any sort of negativity in my life that erupts from the existence of a material object, to mentally examine my situation in comparison to those of the billions of others who live without food, shelter, or clothing.

People on this earth, right now, are homeless, starving, and naked but for rags. I know that a popular Indian preacher was happy to travel through India with only the clothes on his back for seven years. Literally. He and his group wore their same clothes everyday for seven years, and he was blessed to be one of the only ones with shoes. They slept in ditches and were the victims of brutal hate-crimes. But everyday, they were greatful to God and even prayed for the people who hurt them.

Right this very moment, I thank God for every dish I have to scrub, every thread I have to wash and dry. I am glad to have more things than I know what to do with; and I am grateful for having a faith that gives helps me to have such gratitude.

No matter what's going on in your life, you'd be suprised as to how many wonderful things there are. I you can simply readjust one or two of your thinking patterns, you'd be suprised just how much better your life could be.

Try it! For the next month or so, keep track of everything in your life that you are thankful for. Examine the things that you are not thankful for and see if you can't view them from a sweeter, more advantageous light.