A Time To Grow

by | Apr 11, 2020

I road my bicycle from home to the bamboo forest, carefully avoiding the walkway along our river which on weekends has become a superhighway for stir-crazy Tokyoites to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. Unfortunately if everyone goes to the same location to get fresh air, perhaps it isn’t as fresh as it should be.

Where The Bamboo Grows in Tokyo

There are relatively few bamboo forests around Tokyo that are accessible to the general public, perhaps a half dozen. Several of them are on the properties of shrines or temples, an hour or more outside of the heart of the capital. But by some great fortune, one of them happens to be biking distance from my house, and I take several opportunities a year to go there, photograph it, and stroll through its tall, straight foliage in relative peacefulness.

The bamboo forest was pristine with a few people out for walks and two families having picnics though more than 100 meters away from each other with a bamboo grove between them. Spring brings the green back to the forest which turns a sort of dull brownish-green during the winter months. There is also a pristine stream running through here, fed by a natural spring that emerges from underground among the bamboo forest itself.

It was in this environment that I contemplated the state of the world, at least as I knew it. I realized that though it feels like time has stopped for billions of people in the world affected by the coronavirus, it hasn’t really stopped at all. The bamboo continues to grow at its sometimes rampant pace, young shoots sprouting among its elders and even along the walking path (which in the dark of night, might be dug up and taken home for a meal by someone). The water skaters have come back to glide along the stream. The purple irises threaten to overtake the walkway on the sunny side of the stream.

After We Survive This

Meanwhile, I have what seems like all the time in the world and generous companies are providing huge amounts of free educational resources online, but I often feel like just finding a warm spot and curling up to sleep. I want to hibernate the age of coronavirus away and wake up with everything back to how it was in any year that was not 2020. I don’t want to grow; I want to live in the past. I realized if the flowers, the insects, the bamboo decided to live as I want to, the world would be over in an instant. But thank God, they either have no choice in the matter, or they choose with a wisdom that comes from ages of always doing what is right. They just grow.

The reality is that most of us will survive this. We may survive with scars or tears, but we will survive. And life will resume, at full speed, and these days which seem now to drag on will be just fading memories. For decades, I’ve wished my life wouldn’t pass me by so quickly, that I would have time to do things for myself. And now that my wish in some twisted way has come true, why am I not doing the things that I always said I would?

We all have our own answers for doing what we do. But lest we forget, our lives are still in motion, and although we feel like we too much time on our hands, we may one day lie on our deathbeds and realize that wasn’t true at all. So what can I do today that will make me grow into a better person than who I was yesterday? How can I improve the life of another person with an investment of a little of my time? Don’t ponder these questions too long. Time is ticking.

Like what you're seeing?

Let’s talk about how I can help your business in creating custom content promoting your products and services!

How To Pack for a Spring Trip to Japan

So you're planning for the trip of a lifetime to see Japan in the Spring? So are millions of others, my friend, so let me start with the tip I always give to first-time visitors to Japan. Check off the major items on your Tokyo and Kyoto...

Desperately Seeking Shoyu In Saitama

Let Chiba have their giants of mass-produced soy sauce. I’ll head west to Kawagoe, where three craft shoyu makers are still creating cedar barrel-aged masterpieces of sweet umami flavor.

How Hachiko the 100-year-old Dog Still Inspires a Nation

Japan's most beloved dog, Hachiko celebrates his 100th birthday this month, or in dog years, his 700th birthday, which is approaching Dog Methuselah years. Of course, dear Hachiko is no longer with us, having crossed the Rainbow Bridge in...

Fables of the Japanese Conbini

Everybody thinks they know how awesome Japanese convenience stores are, but did you also know these things?

How To Fail At Workation

The time I tried to do “workation” in Nagano in Japan and failed miserably. But perhaps it wasn’t misery I found, but a chance to truly relax.

The Vegetarian Food Culture of Kyoto

Kyoto is certainly rich in Japanese tradition and cultural history, but how well does it fare when it comes to vegetarian cuisine? I found out on a recent business trip to the old capital.

Tea Ceremony, Rebooted

This past weekend, I finally exhaled. Well, that was the feeling anyway, as my tea ceremony teacher along with another group of teachers and students hosted a tea ceremony event at a lovely venue in Nihonbashi. When COVID struck Japan...

Tokyo Street Fashion Inspired By Houseplants

"The city is so hard. Just cement on top of dirt on top of rock. Even weeds have trouble growing here." Butsu Shoku kicks at the asphalt beneath her feet. The long vine of pothos trailing down her sleeve swings freely. Butsu is part of...

Kadokawa Musashino Museum – The Rock Floating On Water

Information about the Kadokawa Musashino Museum, designed by architect Kengo Kuma. This building opened in Tokorozawa, Saitama in 2020.

Could Yamaguchi City Become the New Kyoto?

In 2023, writer Craig Mod created quite a stir in the sleepy town of Morioka in Iwate Prefecture by naming it as his pick for places to visit in 2023 for a New York Times article. A media frenzy ensued (especially here in Japan, where...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This