Tag: well-being

A brief bit of sunlight

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"Morning Light" Austin, 2016
“Morning Light” Austin, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Today was another cold day, but it started out with clear skies and when I arrived at work, the sunlight was streaming in from the east side of the building. It looked so cool that I had to take a photo of it.

Lately I’ve been having a bit of wanderlust, since I enjoyed our road-trip so much and I’m looking forward to traveling more in the near future! We have a few trips planned, which reminded me of a bit of advice I heard last year… It was something like, “Always have something to look forward to.” I didn’t really know what it meant, but I think I am starting to see how it can be a nice way to keep yourself motivated.

Or maybe it’s not so much motivation, but just keeping yourself in a positive mindset. I’ve always thought that my days and years were spent trying to achieve a certain goal, and once I reached that goal, I could just coast. Kind of like I would dread doing my taxes, and I thought when I finished my taxes, then I could rest forever! But of course the next year’s taxes come again… and again.

So now as I get closer to 50 years old maybe I realize that it’s just an ongoing journey, and that it’s the journey itself that’s important, not the destination. Or maybe just shifting my thinking that the destination isn’t an endpoint, but more like a milestone and to look forward to the next milestone. And things do get easier, the more you go through.

Eh… I have no idea if that made any sense or not, but I’m pretty sure I am not articulating my thoughts well. But I’m not going to go back and edit this. You know, life’s too short to spend too much time going back to edit.

Anyways, I do think it’s good to have some things on the horizon to look forward to. Make some fun vacation plans and put them on the calendar!

I hope you had a great day!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Baseball Day

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"Dodgers Gear" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/35 sec, ISO6400
 “Dodgers Gear” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

Today Bay and I watched the Dodgers begin their playoff run with a win against the Nationals. I get so stressed-out watching the games, but tonight I was ok. Even though it was a close game, it wasn’t as bad as before…

A couple of years ago I was so disappointed in how the Dodgers did, that I swore off watching or following any baseball. I just couldn’t deal with the stress! I know it’s so irrational… getting upset about a team losing when you don’t actually have any connection with them at all. I still don’t understand it.

But I thought, the heck with it! I’m not sure why I have that stress, but I don’t need it. So I did the one thing I knew to remove that stress which was to quit following baseball.

I think my baseball blackout lasted for a season, but this year I started watching again. What helped me change my outlook on the games was watching my son Koa play little league. I learned to let go of the final result of the games.. you win some and you lose some, right? And even when the team lost, they still had smiles after the game. Sure, they wanted to win, but they focused on the fun they had on the field and in the dugout, and not on the final score. It seemed like the adults and coaches were more disappointed than the kids were! I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I think there is some absurdity in that situation.

So now when I watch an MLB game, I try not to put so much value on the winning or losing, but rather appreciate the great plays and the athleticism.

Tonight I enjoyed the game a lot, but I still had a little stress. I had to watch the 9th inning from a distance, while washing dishes. Funny, huh… But now there is an emotional distance as well, and it makes watching my favorite team enjoyable again, win or lose.

I hope you had a nice Friday, and let’s have a great weekend!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Everything Happens for a Reason

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"Evening Light" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/180 sec, ISO400
 “Evening Light” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s everything going?

Today I read a great blog post about positivity, and in it there was the saying, “Everything Happens for a Reason” and I started thinking about that particular phrase for the first time… and I actually don’t agree with it, at least in the way that it is commonly interpreted.

I don’t believe in fate or destiny, predetermined by a god, gods, or other supernatural presence. No, I think that an infinite amount of events are in motion for whatever reason, natural or man-made, and that in our normal daily lives, we’ll come into contact with some of these events. It’s just being in the right place at the right time. No gods necessary.

Why do we feel the need to believe that everything happens for a reason? Isn’t it enough to know that the thing has happened, and now we have the chance to react to it, and hopefully in a positive way?

I suppose for some it might be comforting to believe that a god or spirit is controlling everything, but to me, that is a frightening idea, especially when you see the unfortunate things that happen to innocent people. (Birth defects and leftover landmines come to mind)

Anyways, the phrase “Everything happens for a reason” seems like the first part of a longer phrase, the second part being, “… so look for the silver lining”. But then why not just remove the first part altogether and simply look for the positive in everything.

************

Today’s photo is of our breakfast area in our house, and the evening light coming in. I thought it looked nice. I like to take snapshots of the mundane things… they might not be great photos, but they are glimpses into real life. There’s some value in that, I think.

I hope you had a nice Monday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Plot Twist

, , Slice of Life, Well-being3 Comments on Plot Twist
"Evening Treat" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/170 sec, ISO640
 “Evening Treat” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

I read something the other day that I thought was cool. It went something like, “It’s not a setback, it’s a plot twist.” I haven’t had many setbacks in my life, but it’s fun to think of your life as a story, isn’t it?

I know that the quote is meant to help  someone who is hurt or grieving, but even when a good thing happens to you, it is a major event in your own plot and it may be worthwhile to spend some time thinking about it.

Or find things to be thankful for.

Or building upon what happened and learning from it.

The protagonists in stories are affected by these major plot events and it shapes what they do and how they think. As protagonists in our own stories, it might be healthy to take a look at our own script as it is being written and evaluate it from time to time.

Maybe this is a naive way of thinking, but it’s fun to ponder these things sometimes.

Today’s photo is of the sunset  as seen from our house. I really love the clouds around Austin these past several days. 

I hope you had a refreshing weekend, and let’s have a great week, wherever the plot takes you. 

Take care,

– B Barron Fujimoto

🍞 Will Wait

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"Fresh Bread" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO1000
 “Fresh Bread” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！Good evening!

Today Mariko made some amazing food… as you can see from the photo above she did some baking. The rolls looks amazing, don’t they? And she also baked a loaf of bread for kids’ sandwiches. The bread tastes so good, and Mariko uses fresh ingredients and of course there are no preservatives.. the best bread ever!

And for dinner, she prepared the kids’ favorite… Pasta Carbonara. Plus figs wrapped in prosciutto, and a wonderful salad of grilled romaine lettuce and baby tomatoes. I helped by grilling the greens. 😆 As I have mentioned in previous posts, Mariko treats us so well with all the delicious food.

Ironically, today I started a water-fast so I couldn’t taste any of the goodies. I think normally it would be really difficult to resist, but fasting gives you a sense of empowerment over food. Still, with today’s dinner I did feel a bit of temptation, but I will look forward to eating when my fast ends, although I am not sure how long I will go for this time.

In other news, today was the first day of school for the kids and it was pretty much back to the routine as if summer break never happened. Life is just moving very quickly it seems.

I hope you had a nice Monday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto