Goodnight Tokyo. Since my last post I have been north to Hokkaido; Aomori, Asahikawa, Sapporo and Hakodate. I have returned to Tokyo and had two great weeks. All of this will go unblogged. My attention is solely on jotting down this final blog. While I know no one actually reads this, for myself I need to put a conclusion. It wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t.
I am sitting along the banks of the Sumida River. I came here my very first morning in Tokyo. I’ve reflected on what to write since I am incredibly closed and hold everything close to my chest. Why couldn’t this trip just be a vacation away from life? There isn’t anything wrong with that. Why make it into something dramatic and search for deeper meaning? That would make this blog very easy to write. Hey, I had a good time. Thanks for taking care of the dogs. Sorry I quit my job for this. I could write that. But it wouldn’t be true. This trip was created out of the unknown. The reason for coming on the trip was discovering why I came on the trip in the first place.
Four years ago I took a trip to China when I first became principal of Westridge. We had a layover in Japan. Its true before I landed in Japan that I had a mild fascination with Japan. There were a number of anime series and Ghibli movies that meant a lot to me. A good friend and I spoke of Japanese things fondly and the entire culture was interesting. However, it wasn’t until the plane was soaring over the wooded hills and houses on the east coast of Honshu that all of this began to take shape. In a matter of 60 seconds I had an incredibly spiritual moment. Few times in my life have I felt something pull me so strongly. At that moment there was no doubt that I had to come to Japan. The layover was short but if that trip did nothing else it sparked the first that would lead to some major life choices.
So why did I go to Japan in the first place? I went because I believe I was prompted to go to Japan. As a part of that I felt that I was prompted to move out of my home, move to Salt Lake City, and quit my job despite the monetary cost it would have on me. I’m not trying to profess to be some great follower of special promptings, but in this case its what propelled my decision making. One of my favorite, albeit cheesy, scenes from a movie is from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indy has to pass three tests at the end of the movie one of which includes taking a leap from the Lion’s head. He stands before a giant ravine and must step into seemingly midair with no support. It looks like he will fall endlessly. However, he takes the step with faith and the path is suddenly clear. My trip served its purpose. I took the step and it paid off. I can’t tell you how hard it was. I didn’t board the plane to Japan and suddenly a bright light shone down on me enlightening my world. I have worked over the last 50 days. There have been some of the best moments of my life, and there have been other times that were dark and lonely. There have been moments of being stranded, hitchhiking, meltdowns, dating, tears, temptations, friendship, sickness and the list could go on. Underneath it all there has been the support of God. It all came together though, like a symphony coming to a magnificent climatic end.
I truly love the culture and people of Japan. If I had to live anywhere in the world other than my home of Utah, Japan would be the place. I could make it work here, but I do want to make mention of America. I was going to write a blog about this but thats not going to happen. In a nutshell I think its important to know how patriotic I feel about the United States of America. Japan is a wonderful place as you’ve heard me cite over and over again, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love my country. There are some ugly things behind any government, but ultimately I recognize the good and the blessings that have come from being born, raised, and living in the USA. America has always been and continues to be number one.
Life is interesting and in many ways ironic. Life also is very beautiful, despite the tragedies and hardships that unmistakably take us by surprise. I am grateful for it.
So there you have it. I’m ready to come back to Utah. This doesn’t mean my path is clear and I know everything I’m supposed to do. In fact, that is wide open. But I do understand why I came to Japan. I do know why it had to happen and why it will always be a special time of my life full of moments.
27iniche 