A Lovely Day

And it is about the present day.
This the tonight (27 sep.) full moon here in japan, shot from my garden ...
(best viewed in the dark room)


And today l showed how to make a real focaccia to a girl at the buddhist temple near my place that l go to work sometime when they need ... l made 6 oven plates! 4 thick ones, good for sandwiches-like or as a bread accompanied with salads ... and 2 thin ones filled with black olives.
The thick ones had also the rosmary inside ... just a simple snack-lunch italian style!



Then of course the classic mozzarella cheese 'n' tomato dish with oregano, salt 'n' olive oil but don't make the same mistake as i did, it is not a big mistake ... it is not even a mistake,
just forgetting a thing: the basil leaf.
l forgot to buy it, l was sure they had it in the garden ... so, never mind and it was good anyway.


The world famous and unforgettable focaccia farcitaaaaaaaaaaa
(please help: how to say it in english?)


And this girl had a boy of 1 years and 2 months old and when she put him on her heart just like here in the picture ... l love this picture, l'm proud of it!
It was the story Osho told about Tenko's drum, that l posted here in "My Love Affair", that inspired me to take this shot ... lllloooooooooooooovely!


And Japanese children are really beautiful. What happens to them afterwards is a tragedy. The Japanese children are so beautiful. I don't think anywhere else such beautiful children are born -- just like Japanese dolls. But something goes wrong. When they grow up, then all that beauty simply disappears. Then they look like rats, but very dangerous rats. I have always wondered what happens -- such beautiful children suddenly disappear.
I love Japan because of those children. And I love Japan because of the second birth, when a man again becomes a child -- those are the Zen masters.

OSHO - extract from "l Celebrate Myself: God ls No Where, Life Is Now Here"
chapter 4 question 2


Now it is my turn to put my head on ... the mattress!

Yakushima

First of all why Yakushima? 'cos a friend of mine that came here in TYO last year or 2 yrs ago`, my gooosssh ... my memory is getting rotten!!! so she, an italian that l met in Goa, was traveling in japan for a full 3 months and it happened that she visited the island, that now l'm going to talk about ... and when she was back she said that there was nature power and the reason she went there was because of Jomon-sugi, the oldest cedar tree aging from 2000 to 7000 yrs old ... ever found until now in all of japan and it is huge ... if it is the oldest cedar in all world l dont know, on some sites says so but on other sites says the oldest in japan ... anyway, pretty old.
But l'm not a maniac of wild nature, it just happend that was so close with few hrs of trip from the fellas that l was staying ... so l took the chance!!! also l was thinking to go in Okinawa too ... because it was just a little bit souther but then l said "ALAS darshan?! are u getting greedy of traveling??? wait a moment!!! because from Okinawa it could have been to go to Taiwan or Philippines and then l would never be back to TYO!!!! on this l'm sure." after all l had to come back to Tyo.
Ok so lets leave together from Kagoshima port that is viewed just here on the left with huge clouds on his back ... the sea was calm, not like a lake without ripples, thats is impossible with the Ocean on the surface and so don't worry about your seasickness ... just lets go.
lt took less than 2 hrs to reach to Miyanoura port of Yakushima island and of course l could not miss the chance to take a shot to this mystical place while approaching it ... clic! here it is:


Well, l had an'interesting meeting with a couple of gals and the way we met at the first glance was hilarious! because after getting off from the boat, if u don't have the infos with u already on how to move on, gotta go to the touristic office that was near by and funny thing is, it was not a big building just a normal round structure, and l reach at the first door entrance, l try to open it pushing 'n' pulling ... nain ... and l see a board attached on the glass with japanese language (of course) and (since l can understand a little bit their writing) l thought that it was saying to go further to another side to go in and so l go, and on my back there were 2 young japanese girls just going to the same direction ... reached to the second entrance l push 'n' pull and l see the same board ... SO IT IS CLOSE? ... me and these 2 japanese girls looked at each others like "what the f***?" ... and just then one of them open the door pulling on the right side!!! MY GOSSSHH!!!
it was a sliding door!!! ooowwwww .... LOL ... so once in, put the gear down, adjusting well my clothes and having a little piss and washing my hands ... all these small things u know, then back to my mountain gear and just then l see a western woman that was making the same mistake of pushing 'n' pulling the door ... and l started to giggle hihhihi ... and another japanese woman that was with her did the job of opening the door LOL ... but it was nice for me to see U, the western woman, the face she did when she saw the trick of the door and l laughed and she got me while laughing!!! LOL ... so l simply said "lt happened to me too... LOL" and she replied "we didn't think about it with the first entrance!!!" and l concluded "... same here...LOL" and we smiled away ... then l get the maps and infos on how to reach to the Youth Hostel by bus, calculating timing also because l wanted to have an immediate lunch! then on the way to the town l met again these 2 fellow travelers U and Y, actually l was walking faster because of the hunger but l could not avoid to exchange ... you know?! ... just where are u from? where u going? ... just a human chit-chat ... and it was getting well the conversation, it was nice also because for me isn't so easy to get somebody who can speak with a nice clear english that l can understand easily but l loved immensely one question that U asked to me after a while and that was "Are u from lndia?" ... l checked the color of my skin and replied "WOW l like this question! it is the first time ... but YESss, in a way l'm from lndia although l was born in ltaly and how come this question of yours?" and U "becasuse your pronunciation looks very alike to the indian pronunciation ..."
LOL HAHAHAAAAAA and then l told her that l've been in lndia for a long while in ashram with Osho and Goa ... and so we ended up to have a lunch together!!!
And l ended up to ask'em if l could join to ride with them, because they wanted to rent a car, and the place they had to go was just 4 towns before the place l had to go ... so l asked to go together and from their place l would take the bus ... ok no problem lets go! and l was saying "you sure no problem? l dont want to stick my nose in your trip ..." and she would say "just flow with existence" ... wow, nice uh?!
We reached at their hotel, not the luxurious type or the resort type, just a cool place in the middle of greenery with the camera facing the ocean ... then with my surprise, they offered to bring me to the last stop, that it was a 10~15 min. drive ... they were both musicians with some sensitivity about listening ... and so, before going to my place, we went to see Senpiro-no-Taki Waterfall that was on the way .... l asked permission to post the picture that U sent to me and here we are!

well ... first we met this group of fellas
that asked me to shoot'em off then, of course, we exchanged the favor

... and now l wanna go to my spot
to get refreshed ... these pictures made me want to immerse in the nature!
(^-^)/ later


The Plan

That never worked! of course.
But it is good to tell u what it was so u can see what happened after ... remember that l had to postpone the plan because of typhoon? well, l stayed 3 more days in Nango and just this memorable day l wanna tell u before going on on Yakushima island ... there was strong wind and rain, actually the typhoon was approaching closer and closer and u know what l said to A? "YO, LETS GO TO THE BEACH ... BEACH YES, NOT BITCH, B-E-A-C-H ... WITH RAINCOATS TO HAVE A LITTLE DANCE WITH THE POWERFUL WIND!!!" and A "OH YEAH! ...GOLO LETS GO!" ... he even took his dog Golo!!! LOL ... and so we went to the beach that was nearby with 5 min. walk and the nicest thing l ever felt was: facing the sea, smelling the waves roaming forth with lots of rains kicking on my face and what l did? just turned around with the wind blowing on my back, l just pretended that there was a chair and actually sat down, u believe it or not, l was sitting as if the chair was there under my ass and it was just the sheer power of the wind to keep me up!!!! AWESOME!!!!
Ok here is the plan that l was talking about ... staying at Yakushima Youth Hostel in the camping site for just 1 night and the next morning early at 5 o'clock l would leave to go in the wild mountain and staying 2~3 days between mountain huts and tent then back to the coast to have another 2~3 days on the seaside, l heard that the water is fabulously clear and warm with tropical fishes, and of course l would not fix the date of return because who knows whats behind the corner?
So on the 4th of august early morning, l planned to take the train at 6 o'clock from Nango to go to Kagoshima to take the Rocket at 12:30 ... ALRIGHT miracle, here back is the post, that l was so blind to not find the draft page, ok google l hope u'll forgive me for that little finger (^-^) !!!! ok cool lets go on ...
But A did a nice favor to me, because it take almost 5 hours from Nango to Kagoshima by train, and not the express one that are very expansive, so he had a friend living near one station that was exactly on the half way and therefore he took the chance to go to see this friend of his own by bringing me by car to that station, Nishimiyakonojo!!! very nice!

So u see? these are all last minutes decisions ... which make me feel that is useless to plan although sometime it is necessary to have a plan but l cannot take it anymore seriously!!! inshallah.
Then on the map l marked that purple spot because when l came back from Yakushima , before re-entering in the Kagoshima port, from the rocket boat l took this picture that l found so majestic this mountain so big, and when l posted in the flickr l commented that may be it was a volcano ... so l checked out and YES indeed, it is.

Fellas, l'm proud to introduce to you: Sakurajima Volcano!

OPHS!!!
























Sorry fellas, l was finishing the new post and what happened?
l just wanted to show u the boat that l used to go to Yakushima island so l went to pick up the link and then, switching from the browser tab that l copied the link to the blogger posting tab, l mistakenly clicked on that nasty X e PUFF vanished! it canceled all that l was writing ... just gone.
Then with a smile l said to myself "don't worry pal ... this is a google stuff ... it certainly saved automatically in the post draft ... "
HALOOOOO GOOGLE?
Now l would love to re-write but it is 1 AM ... and my tick-tack dancing fingers on keyboard isn't so good for the sake of the neighborhood ... so, see you tomorrow ... (^-^)v

PS= but do u know that tomorrow never come?

Anger

















l'm having intense moments ... and today l found in myself a vibrating anger ... it was long time that l didn't feel like this, l had to cook immediately just to cool down and it took almost 1 hour to cool it down then l felt to go in Gazebo to rest.
Then l took the mouse-brush and wanted to express on the virtual canvas ... it just came to move very slow and so, slowly slowly the painting was complete.
Thought l'm not a good painter ... the ink even dripped out of the canvas!

Typhoon!

This was the day, the day after the pizza party, that l had to leave to go to Yakushima island but u know what? l plan something and it never work out! and l still have the illusion that l can plan ... it is just not possible ... since l met Osho it is impossible for me to make a plan ... it works for u? yes?!
u're just lucky! then be careful of Osho, once he got you ... finished! but marvelous.
And what happened? The morning l left Nango hitchhiking, l asked N (N of A&N) to book a seat of a speedy boat for the first of august that l would reach to Yakushima by noon and reaching the camping spot, that l reservered the space, by evening ... mmmhh? But no, it just cannot go that way because suddenly the news says "A TYPHOON IS PASSING JUST OVER YAKUSHIMA ON THE FIRST OF AUGUST IN THE AFTERNOON FOLLOWING STRONG RAINS FOR 2 DAYS!" oh yeaaahh??? ok then, it was obvious that it wasn't the case to go in a such situation and l don't wanted to stay more at Madhupan place because l've stayed enough, moreover they had to start again to work ... l mean, bread-shop is quite hard, so l wanted to leave them in peace even if they were saying ok no problem blah blah blah ... so we just phoned to A asking him if l could stay at their place until the weather start to behave nice ... but of cooourrrssse.
And so this was my very last stop in Obi with these 2 fellow travelers ... grabbed my slim camera put over their small-noisy-car and made the memorable shot in front of their entrance!


Then we grabbed their little survival transportation and N (N of M&N, the blue guy who is making the nasty face at you) said to me "l wanna bring u to eat oishi sushi in the next town that is close to Nango and then we'll drop u there ok?" yyeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhh sure! come on! my belly heard sushi PPIIIINNNN started to WUAM WUAM WOOOAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMM lets go gogogogogo! and he started the car pprrrrrrrrr patta pum pum pum pr pr prrrrrrrrrrr tcha ctha tchaaaaaa .... next town!? l dont know why, but he went into mountain way trying to push the gas at the maximum and goes and goes and the sushi shop wasn't even on the horizon ... it took 1 hour! next town uh!? then l looked the map and l asked him if it really take take this much between your town to this town? actually it takes 20 minutes .... uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhh.
Anyway l don't tell ya how much it was good the sushi ... mmmhhhh mmmhhhh mmmmh

Back 2 Obi

So l stayed 2 days having good time with A&N between foods, shower outside ... oh yeah didn't l tell you? one of the most nice experience is to take the shower in the garden watching the grass and the sky with crabs peeping on my downtown!!! very nice spot for a shower... kinda of a wild life. Then A gave me his old times backpack with sleeping bag and a very narrow 'n' slim mattress and some ropes and they all fitted well in the backpack ... l had the plan to leave soon for Yakushima island, l wanted to stay few days with real wild nature and this island was just close by ... l would have been a total idiot if l didn't go there. But first l had to go back to Obi that Madhupan become again free from job so l could stay 2 more days before going to Yakushima and so, when l left from Nango A had to go to work early at 5 o'clock of morning and he could not bring me to the station although there are buses but l opted to walk and hitchhike ... for about half of the distance nobody was stopping then finally a car stopped and they were 2 young boys ... exited and surprised to see a gaijii (stranger) in their zone but l was even more surprised because first of all isn't so easy to see young people over there and the guy who was driving was a "round" type driving with the seat-back almost totally pulled down and his friend was kinda of punk with green hair!!! u can visualize them ... if it was in tokyo then it was perfectly normal but there in the middle of nature? LOL, it was very nice thought and they brought me to the station and so back to Obi l was.
The next morning we, me & madhupan, planned to go to bathe in a hot spring and then go to miyazaki city for shopping ... before leaving l wanted to check out once more time the price of the tent in the Home Center, l went once with sandals remember? but this time l hitchhiked!
also because the sun was very nasty that day so on the way to go l got, almost near by, a carpenter with his truck that he stopped, not because of me ... because he had to turn to go on but l got the chance to ask him while he was turning and l saw that for a fraction of a second he hesitated ... then welcomed me ... GOOD!
l saw the thing that l had to see and immediately back to the bread-sauna-shop but on the way back, with my thumb under the shining sun getting burned, nobody was stopping ... it was because of my long hair and beard? l don't know but u won't believe this: after l walked about half of the distance a car finally stopped (it seems that l have to walk half way before a car can stop for me ... kind of balance?) and it was a boy of near about my age ... he new where Madhupan was!!! and why? because he was living just near by!!! so he brought me directly to the front door!!! amazing uh!?
OK then we went to have a bath in a hot spring that was situated up on the hill and u could take the bath also outside with hill view ... the public bath isn't much for me, l think isn't very hygienic to bathe together with anybody in the same tub although this is one of the famous custom between japanese people ... l went with V in the beginning of my life here in Japan, just 2 or 3 times then l gave up ... also because to stay immersed in a hot water is kind of dulling (l'm talking for my taste may be for you is good) but l like very much in cold water, kinda to keep me alert because the body temperature is already warm so the contrast with cold water does some trick ... u gotta try it to get what l mean ... after all l prefer a shower.
But since l was a guest and never experienced a Hot Spring on the open with nature view, it was worth it trying. l even got bitten by some nasty insect on my foot while l was lied down on the stones watching the sky ... fucking insect! (l respect all kind of living beings but why the fuck he had to bite my foot ... what did l do to this fella? may be some karma!)
Anyway after an hour or so, we went to Miyazaki city to make big shopping ... also for pizza party ... oh yeah, they asked me to make pizza and of course it is my joy to make it, so we bought all the necessary ingredients, and we also went to see in a big outdoor shop to look for a tent, didn't find a decent one, so we stopped at the Home Center on the way back and bought the tent together with a 1 liter thermos bottle and a lamp that u can put on your head keeping free the hands ... nice shopping.
Back to home, l with the help of M, started to prepare the pizza ... they invited 3 more people for the night party.
And while the pizza dough was resting to become fatter l had to try to set up the tent on the river side ... it was may be 13 years that l did not use a tent so l was kinda exited to use it again! l just set it up and an old man stopped by, asked me very nicely: u sleep here? LOL.
then after few seconds started raining ... AOH?! fast fast pif paf puf to put everything back in the pack!!! also because the next day l had to leave so there was no time to dry it!!! good it did not get so much wet ... just a light rain.
Then finally l stayed in the very narrow kitchen to go on with pizza and salads ... l totally forgot to take pictures, sorry.
We ate it with mucho gusto then N put on an indian movie, one of the latest one ... my gosh how much they changed!!! it is very funny to see a new indian movie because until 2006 they were making always the same kind of love/hate/betrayal story with dilin dilin dilin group dancing (they are very good with dance .... in my opinion, in the whole world only the indians and the black people knows how to dance) and then the news for me was to see in an indian movie a western kiss!!! WOW a BIG STEP in the indian industry films (tell me if l'm wrong!)

The Japanese Toilet

Well, l gotta tell you this mystery, do u see the toilet right here? don't worry, isn't polluted, u can breath easily. And whats the mystery? that there is no water to flush and actually it does not smell as it happen in ur toilet (any objection?) ... and why l'm sharing this "nasty"thing? simple, because it has many stories just as this one: l heard that once, even in tokyo, farmers & company were passing by to each house to buy the shit, yes they were paying for it, and to recycle it through camps and fields and it was making the vegetables very good! better than cow shit. So how it works? first u see the cover made of bamboo covering the toilet then when u take it up and put it aside, so u can do the blessing body-need, never look down! u might get frightened from that huge hole ... so just go easy ... and here is the mystery, it actually doesn't smell. Because all your needs go down straight to a very big tub just under u and it stay there for long time, 1 month or 2 or even 6, depending the size of the tub, l dont know ... but it doesn't smell!!! how is it possible? l, at the first didn't want to go there to "download" but had to! then l started to like to do it there that now l miss it!!! and when l told to my father about it, because he is a little bit fanatic with ecological and recycling ways ... just like A and may be just like me too ... l feel it is beautiful to cooperate with nature ... so when l told him about this toilet, he asked me to study it! how it works and how to build one ... and for what, l asked him? because he wanted to make it one for his small mountain hut that is up there at 1300 meters with nothing around.
l told him that it is more easy to make an hole somewhere outside since there is nobody around, at the most some deer or sheep can have a peep.
And nowdays, alright l didn't visit all the toilets of the world but l can say for sure that japanese toilet are the best!!! from warm seat to fart & smell killer and much more.
l looked around in the net to show u what l mean,
it wasn't easy to find a demonstration in english but this one is quite cool
and here u can see the funny commercial
and if u wanna see a more complete history of it then the place is on this page

Osho on Creativity


I BELIEVED I WAS UNCREATIVE. WHAT ELSE CAN BE CREATIVITY BESIDES DANCING AND PAINTING AND HOW TO FIND OUT WHAT MY CREATIVITY IS?

CREATIVITY has nothing to do with any activity in particular -- with painting, poetry, dancing, singing. It has nothing to do with anything in particular.
Anything can be creative -- you bring that quality to the activity. Activity itself is neither creative nor uncreative. You can paint in an uncreative way. You can sing in an uncreative way. You can clean the floor in a creative way. You can cook in a creative way.
Creativity is the quality that you bring to the activity you are doing. It is an attitude, an inner approach -- how you look at things.
So the first thing to be remembered: don't confine creativity to anything in particular. A man is creative -- and if he is creative, whatsoever he does, even if he walks, you can see in his walking there is creativity. Even if he sits silently and does nothing, even non-doing will be a creative act. Buddha sitting under the Bodhi Tree doing nothing is the greatest creator the world has ever known.
Once you understand it -- that it is you, the person, who is creative or uncreative -- then this problem disappears.
Not everybody can be a painter -- and there is no need also. If everybody is a painter the world will be very ugly; it will be difficult to live. And not everybody can be a dancer, and there is no need. But everybody can be creative.
Whatsoever you do, if you do it joyfully, if you do it lovingly, if your act of doing it is not purely economical, then it is creative. If you have something growing out of it within you, if it gives you growth, it is spiritual, it is creative, it is divine.
You become more divine as you become more creative. all the religions of the world have said: God is the Creator. I don't know whether He is the Creator or not, but one thing I know: the more creative you become, the more godly you become. When your creativity comes to a climax, when your whole life becomes creative, you live in God. So He must be the Creator because people who have been creative have been closest to Him.
Love what you do. Be meditative while you are doing it -- whatsoever it is! irrelevant of the fact of what it is.
Have you seen Paras cleaning this floor of Chuang Tzu auditorium? Then you will know: cleaning can become creative. With what love! Almost singing and dancing inside. If you clean the floor with such love, you have done an invisible painting. You lived that moment in such delight that it has given you some inner growth. You cannot be the same after a creative act.
Creativity means loving whatsoever you do -- enjoying, celebrating it, as a gift of God! Maybe nobody comes to know about it. Who is going to praise Paras for cleaning this floor? History will not take any account of it; newspapers will not publish her name and pictures -- but that is irrelevant. She enjoyed it. The value is intrinsic.
So if you are looking for fame and then you think you are creative -- if you become famous like Picasso, then you are creative -- then you will miss. Then you are, in fact, not creative at all: you are a politician, ambitious. If fame happens, good. If it doesn't happen, good. It should not be the consideration. The consideration should be that you are enjoying whatsoever you are doing. It is your love-affair.
If your act is your love-affair, then it becomes creative. Small things become great by the touch of love and delight.
The questioner asks: "I believed I was uncreative." If you believe in that way, you will become uncreative -- because belief is not just belief. It opens doors; it closes doors. If you have a wrong belief, then that will hang around you as a closed door. If you believe that you are uncreative, you will become uncreative -- because that belief will obstruct, continuously negate, all possibilities of flowing. It will not allow your energy to flow because you will continuously say: "I am uncreative."
This has been taught to everybody. Very few people are accepted as creative: A few painters, a few poets -- one in a million. This is foolish! Every human being is a born creator. Watch children and you will see: all children are creative. By and by, we destroy their creativity. By and by, we force wrong beliefs on them. By and by, we distract them. By and by, we make them more and more economical and political and ambitious.
When ambition enters, creativity disappears -- because an ambitious man cannot be creative, because an ambitious man cannot love any activity for its own sake. While he is painting he is looking ahead; he is thinking, 'When am I going to get a Nobel Prize?' When he is writing a novel, he is looking ahead. He is always in the future -- and a creative person is always in the present.
We destroy creativity. Nobody is born uncreative, but we make ninety-nine percent of people uncreative.
But just throwing the responsibility on the society is not going to help -- you have to take your life in your own hands. You have to drop wrong conditionings. You have to drop wrong, hypnotic auto-suggestions that have been given to you in your childhood. Drop them! Purify yourself of all conditionings... and suddenly you will see you are creative.
To be and to be creative are synonymous. It is impossible to be and not to be creative. But that impossible thing has happened, that ugly phenomenon has happened, because all your creative sources have been plugged, blocked, destroyed, and your whole energy has been forced into some activity that the society thinks is going to pay.
Our whole attitude about life is money-oriented. And money is one of the most uncreative things one can become interested in. Our whole approach is power-oriented and power is destructive, not creative. A man who is after money will become destructive, because money has to be robbed, exploited; it has to be taken away from many people, only then can you have it. Power simply means you have to make many people impotent, you have to destroy them -- only then will you be powerful, can you be powerful.
Remember: these are destructive acts. A creative act enhances the beauty of the world; it gives something to the world, it never takes anything from it. A creative person comes into the world, enhances the beauty of the world -- a song here, a painting there. He makes the world dance better, enjoy better, love better, meditate better. When he leaves this world, he leaves a better world behind him. Nobody may know him; somebody may know him -- that is not the point. But he leaves the world a better world, tremendously fulfilled because his life has been of some intrinsic value.
Money, power, prestige, are uncreative; not only uncreative, but destructive activities. Beware of them! And if you beware of them you can become creative very easily. I am not saying that your creativity is going to give you power, prestige, money. No, I cannot promise you any rose-gardens. It may give you trouble. It may force you to live a poor man's life. All that I can promise you is that deep inside you will be the richest man possible; deep inside you will be fulfilled; deep inside you will be full of joy and celebration. You will be continuously receiving more and more blessings from God. Your life will be a life of benediction.
But it is possible that outwardly you may not be famous, you may not have money, you may not succeed in the so-called world. But to succeed in this so-called world is to fail deeply, is to fail in the inside world. And what are you going to do with the whole world at your feet if you have lost your own self? What will you do if you possess the whole world and you don't possess yourself? A creative person possesses his own being; he is a master.
That's why in the East we have been calling sannyasins 'swamis'. 'Swami' means a master. Beggars have been called swamis -- masters. Emperors we have known, but they proved in the final account, in the final conclusion of their lives, that they were beggars. A man who is after money and power and prestige is a beggar, because he continuously begs. He has nothing to give to the world.
Be a giver. Share whatsoever you can! And remember, I am not making any distinction between. small things and great things. If you can smile whole-heartedly, hold somebody's hand and smile, then it is a creative act, a great creative act. Just embrace somebody to your heart and you are creative. Just look with loving eyes at somebody... just a loving look can change the whole world of a person.
Be creative. Don't be worried about what you are doing -- one has to do many things -- but do everything creatively, with devotion. Then your work becomes worship. Then whatsoever you do is a prayer. And whatsoever you do is an offering at the altar.
Drop this belief that you are uncreative. I know how this belief is created: you may not have been a gold medalist in the university; you may not have been top in your class; your painting may not have won appreciation; when you play on your flute, neighbors report to the police. Maybe -- but just because of these things, don't get the wrong belief that you are uncreative. That may be because you are imitating others.
People have a very limited idea of what being creative is -- playing the guitar or the flute or writing poetry -- so people go on writing rubbish in the name of poetry. You have to find out what you can do and what you cannot do. Everybody cannot do everything! You have to search and find your destiny. You have to grope in the dark, I know. It is not very clear-cut what your destiny is -- but that's how life is. And it is good that one has to search for it -- in the very search, something grows.
If God were to give a chart of your life to you when you were entering into the world -- this will be your life: you are going to become a guitarist -- then your life would be mechanical. Only a machine can be predicted, not a man. Man is unpredictable. Man is always an opening... a potentiality for a thousand and one things. Many doors open and many alternatives are always present at each step -- and you have to choose, you have to feel. But if you love your life you will be able to find.
If you DON'T love your life and you love something else, then there is a problem. If you love money and you want to be creative, you cannot become creative. The very ambition for money is going to destroy your creativity. If you want fame, then forget about creativity. Fame comes easier if you are destructive. Fame comes easier to an Adolf Hitler; fame comes easier to a Henry Ford. Fame is easier if you are competitive, violently competitive. If you can kill and destroy people, fame comes easier.
The whole history is the history of murderers. If you become a murderer, fame will be very easy. You can become a prime minister; you can become a president -- but these are all masks. Behind them you will find very violent people, terribly violent people hiding, smiling. Those smiles are political, diplomatic. If the mask slips, you will always see Genghis Khan, Timur Leng, Nadir Shah, Napoleon, Alexander, Hitler, hiding behind.
If you want fame, don't talk about creativity. I am not saying that fame never comes to a creative person, but very rarely it comes, very rarely. It is more like an accident, and it takes much time. Almost always it happens that by the time fame comes to a creative person, he is gone -- it is always posthumous; it is very delayed.
Jesus was not famous in his day. If there were no Bible, there would have been no record of him. The record belongs to his four disciples; nobody else has ever mentioned him, whether he existed or not. He was not famous. He was not successful. Can you think of a greater failure than Jesus? But, by and by, he became more and more significant; by and by, people recognized him. It takes time.
The greater a person is, the more time it takes for people to recognize him -- because when a great person is born, there are no criteria to judge him by, there are no maps to find him with. He has to create his own values; by the time he has created the values, he is gone. It takes thousands of years for a creative person to be recognized, and then too it is not certain. There have been many creative people who have never been recognized. It is accidental for a creative person to be successful. For an uncreative, destructive person it is more certain.
So if you are seeking something else in the name of creativity, then drop the idea of being creative. At least consciously, deliberately, do whatsoever you want to do. Never hide behind masks. If you really want to be creative, then there is no question of money, success, prestige, respectability -- then you enjoy your activity; then each act has an intrinsic value. You dance because you like dancing; you dance because you delight in it. If somebody appreciates, good, you feel grateful. If nobody appreciates, it is none of your business to be worried about it. You danced, you enjoyed -- you are already fulfilled.
But this belief of being uncreative can be dangerous -- drop it! Nobody is uncreative -- not even trees, not even rocks. People who have known trees and loved trees, know that each tree creates its own space, each rock creates its own space. It is like nobody else's space. If you become sensitive, if you become capable of understanding, through empathy, you will be tremendously benefited. You will see each tree is creative in its own way; no other tree is like that -- each tree is unique; each tree has individuality, each rock has individuality. Trees are not just trees -- they are people. Rocks are not just rocks -- they are people. Go and sit by the side of a rock -- watch it lovingly, touch it lovingly, feel it lovingly.
It is said about a Zen master that he was able to pull very big rocks, remove very big rocks -- and he was a very fragile man. It was almost impossible looking at his physiology! Stronger men, very much stronger than him, were unable to pull those rocks, and he would simply pull them very easily.
He was asked what his trick was. He said, "There is no trick -- I love the rock so the rock helps. First I say to her, 'Now my prestige is in your hands, and these people have come to watch. Now help me, cooperate with me.' Mm? -- then I simply hold the rock lovingly... and wait for the hint. When the rock gives me the hint -- it is a shudder, my whole spine starts vibrating -- when the rock gives me the hint that she is ready, then I move. You move against the rock; that's why so much energy is needed. I move with the rock, I flow with the rock. In fact, it is wrong to say that I remove it -- I am simply there. The rock removes itself."
One great Zen master was a carpenter, and whenever he made tables, chairs, somehow they had some ineffable quality in them, a tremendous magnetism. He was asked, "How do you make them?"
He said, "I don't make them. I simply go to the forest: the basic thing is to enquire of the forest, of trees, which tree is ready to become a chair."
Now these things look absurd -- because we don't know, we don't know the language. For three days he would remain in the forest. He would sit under one tree, under another tree, and he would talk to trees -- and he was a mad man! But a tree is to be judged by its fruit, and this master has also to be judged by his creation. A few of his chairs still survive in China -- they still carry a magnetism. You will just be simply attracted; you will not know what is pulling you. After a thousand years! -- something tremendously beautiful.
He said, "I go and I say that I am in search of a tree who wants to become a chair. I ask the trees if they are willing; not only willing: cooperating with me, ready to go with me -- only then. Sometimes it happens that no tree is ready to become a chair -- I come empty-handed."
It happened: The Emperor of China asked him to make him a stand for his books. And he went and after three days he said, "Wait -- no tree is ready to come to the palace."
After three months the Emperor again enquired. The carpenter said, "I have been going continuously. I am persuading. Wait -- one tree seems to be leaning a little bit."
Then he persuaded one tree. He said, "The whole art is there! -- when the tree comes of its own accord. Then she is simply asking the help of the carpenter."
You can go and ask Asheesh -- he has a feel for wood, and wood also has a feel for him.
If you are loving you will see that the whole existence has individuality. Don't pull and push things. Watch, communicate; take their help -- and much energy will be preserved.
Even trees are creative, rocks are creative. You are man: the very culmination of this existence. You are at the top -- you are conscious. Never think with wrong beliefs, and never be attached to wrong beliefs, that you are uncreative. Maybe your father said to you that you are uncreative, your colleagues said to you that you are uncreative. Maybe you were searching in wrong directions, in directions in which you are not creative, but there must be a direction in which you are creative. Seek and search and remain available, and go on groping -- unless you find it.
Each man comes into this world with a specific destiny -- he has something to fulfill, some message has to be delivered, some work has to be completed. You are not here accidentally -- you are here meaningfully. There is a purpose behind you. The Whole intends to do something through you.

OSHO - extract from the book A SUDDEN CLASH OF THUNDER
chapter 4 - question 1


PS= hey pssst, do u think l used photoshop for these pictures?

Nango's Food

l told u that l would have shown u the food made in A's place .... so, after we made the oven and lit it with lots of woods to "purifies" the internal part with high temperature ... well, we celebrated with potatoes and carrots laid on a metal plate that A made it just out of the blue, then l put olive oil of course, lots of salt (because the potatoes need it lots if you want to do it roasted otherwise u'll not feel tasted enough) pepper and rosmary. AH but here is the trick, before u put potatoes and carrots on the plate, need to cut it in pieces big as u feel, l cut the size of a ping-pong ball ... and boil it with not so much salt, and just half cook ... DONT COOK IT TOTALLY. then if u wanna boil throughout then go on, do as u like and see what happen.
Only then put on the plate ... and why boiling before? it make the skin CRACK CRACK and inside is soft soft but dry. lt worked so well! lt cooked so FANTASTIKO! well, the only thing was that the potatoes 'n' carrots came out a little bit black because of smoke ... but GOOD l tell ya!
it is really FAVOLOSO to cook outside with woods and stones ... it make me feel alive and primitive and wild and u can go on with ur imagination!
l also made my mama's recipe, thats of colored paprika with dry bread crumbles, raisin, sliced of almonds and lot of parmesan cheese .... very good, a delicate plate.
and A made, that big cup of rice with seasoned fish he prepared before, some green stuff, ginger, and seaweeds on top with hot water (or green tea?) ... usually is green tea and this typical japanese plate is called OCHATSUKE ... mmmmhhh this also mmmmmmhh, simple and mmmh.

Of course not all these food l made in one day, just wanna finish once for all with otherwise l need to stand up again and again to go to the fridge and look some snack and for u too!!! no?
Then one day l said lets make focaccia!!! but the problem was that the oven was there but too small for focaccia and uffh l had the right feel to make focaccia ... so a said why dont u try with fry pan? ... FRY PAN??? ... focaccia in the fry pan .... it can works? well we were crazy enough to experiment, especially l'm a specialist in trying these kind of things, it was somehow ok, in the right atmosphere with another crazy fellow what u want more? and so bim bum bam down to prepare half kg of focaccia!!! thats a lot! and YYEEAAAAAAAHHH just go with it and in abundance! and while the dough was becoming bigger 'n' bigger we tried to find out which fry pan was suitable ... and he had only one fry pan with high border ZZUUUUUMM took it! then we found a metal plate with acceptable high border for focaccia and it was even fitting beautifully in the pan but l dont wanted that it touched directly with the bottom of the pan, l wanted to find a way to make the heat "ventilated" in between ... so we found a round metal net that was soooo perfect! anyway l put the focaccia in the plate with lot of olive oil (not the garlic one) and rock salt. and VOOOOOOOOMMM fire on, making the pan hot and hotter just like when u preheat the oven ... then plate with focaccia in and cover ... after 5 minutes wanna give a look if it is working ... OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH it became 3 times bigger!!!! MMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII it was really working and l was jumping like when Archimedes discovered something and went on the street naked!!! then l wait 3 more minutes and open again and see that the border of focaccia was getting golden and ready ... so i turned upside-down hoping well ... UUUUUUUUUUUHHHH
and the smell of oil AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH. another 5 minutes and off the fire and VOILA`!


MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmhHHHHHHHHHHHHHH the BEST FOCACCIA l EVER MADE!!!!!! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! THANX A FOR UR CRAZY IDEA!!!


Here is another intensive dancing food group with this fish, that when l saw it in the supermarket it came in my mind just like the picture u see under ... this time with the wild oven of course, in ltaly we call it "CARTOCCIO" and in english is ... l dont know, HELP if u know ... anyway sharp knife ZAK ZAK ZAK with Golo, the dog, on my side ... sho sho sho ... in the belly l put: sprout, one small thin-sliced green pepper, some mini tomatoes cut in 4 ... all this dressed previously in a bowl with salt pepper olive oil and then stuff it. Outside: sliced garlic, capers, mini tomato, fresh thyme and fresh basil and oregano and "garlic olive oil" and salt and pepper and close the aluminium foil like a bag and put in the hot oven ... 10~15 minutes.


MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMhhhhh accompanied with very fresh rice that A just brought home that was just cropped from the field ... soooo good fresh white rice!!! l never ate like that one. lucky A&N!!! and this time N made a cold MISO SOUP, she made this typical soup of HOKKAIDO, the upper lsland of Japan and she is from there. it was delicious. mmmmhh



Then one day l even made gnocchi, actually A never made it so l showed him how to make it.
So l wanted to do with gorgonzola cheese and walnut with rucola ... but gorgonzola wasn't possible to find ... so l say that blue cheese will do ... but not even that!!! OH F**K!
And l was stubborn to not change the sauce, rather l bought a camembert cheese!!!
and trying to transform it in strong cheese ... forget it, but it was good anyway.
too light for me but for them was ok, because japanese people don't eat so much strong taste food they opt very much very light taste ... just think of tofu! but it has a bauty of its own to eat food as it is without dressing too much ... it make the palate more sensible to taste the real taste of a vegetable or what else ... so gnocchi was OK for them, for me too but l'm more on strong taste. somehow my body need salt ... alas!



The last supper, AAWWWW finally l can finish with this post...l never thought to make it so long, sorry! So this was our last dinner together and my last supper in kyushu, the next morning l was off to Hiroshima ... later later.
Just a simple spaghetti with some simple bruschetta and salad ... if u want to know the recipe, let me know and l'll tell ya ok.



Good night my friend, thank you for letting me share the joy of cooking ... marvelous.

The Oven!

Hi there, did u shake a little bit your body? u better do it before going on reading (^-^)
l'm proud to introduce to you this fella, Golo. Yeah the dog of Nango's friends, A&N, and l went once more time to Ishinami beach (of course) ... l reached to nango place by train and they were waiting me at the station and l met N for the first time after some years, heeeeyyy N how are u~ hugging and partying ... it was the first time to meet her here in japan, because we met in india and l remember that she rented for free her bicycle to my mama when she came to see me in india ... thats how l met her and strange how l meet again people "almost casually" in another country ... l think it is never casual ... then we went in A's place, the one that l liked very much, ate some food, l dont remember if l cooked but ALAS! l have to always cook?! ... yes of course, because l like cooking! ok so l show u once for all what l cooked here for these fellow travelers and for my belly too! all the food that l made here at A's place, were all out of the moment 2 moment without a plan or recipe ... thats is the best way for a delicious food, in my opinion, and they were really delicious and they were so happy to eat my food that l was even dancing while cooking just LALALLALLALAAAAA aLLALALAAAAAA mmmmmmhhhh do ya smell the garlic with olive oil? ooowww but do u know what l discovered? my brother A, yeah he's like a brother to me ... planted lots of garlic and u know what he did? l just love him for this! he filled in the bottle of 1 liter of ltalian Extravergine Olive Oil as much as half bottle of peeled garlic .... OOOOOHHHH usually no need that much garlic!!! but l tell u, it was FA-BU-LO-U-S ... right, tomorrow l'll buy plenty of garlic and l will also do it! u also do it if u like the garlic taste, so no need to cut garlic to fry in the pan, just one minispoon of it does the job! but remember to forget the bottle filled of garlic for at least 1 month before using it uh. So the first dish that l prepared was a wild one! to understand this l gotta tell u this little premise: When l went for the first time in A's place with Madhupan, A was building a small house in his garden, yep all by himself and it was coming nice and l liked and l told him that l'm also like him, good with hands ... and he said l WANNA MAKE AN OVEN TO BAKE PIZZA AND BREAD (yeah he was screaming because l think was kinda happy that day) so l said WELL, LETS DO IT TOGETHER BECAUSE I CAN HELP U TO BUILD ONE!!! .... OH THATS GREAT, he said. then l said: YO, WHAT I'M TELLING U IS THIS: I LIKE THIS PLACE AND I LIKE U, SO WHENEVER U NEED HELP JUST CALL ME AND I COME STRAIGHT DOWN HERE AND I DONT WANNA ANY MONEY FROM YA, IS THAT COOL?! ...
and he replied: YEAH OF COURSE! BUT DO U KNOW HOW TO MAKE A BRICK-OWEN?
and D, thats me: NO, NEVER MADE ONE!
LOL ... but l told him that the best things that l made in my life were the ones that l never made previously ... l dont know how to say this but l think that creativity in itself is such that it build up by itself and A confirmed that, because he also said that the house he is building, it is made all by moment to moment so he got my point and we understood each other.
So that day when we went back home from the beach, l was in the garden and l felt to actually build an oven to cook roasted potatoes 'n' carrots and l announced to'em: tonight menu is roasted vegetable cooked in the oven. and A&N: but we don't have it!? No problem l'm going to make it one right now! and how, in 1 hour? l don't know how but l know that is possible, just let me do it! u don't worry and have a siesta.
In reality they had it already but it was not used as an oven it was more like for big rounded chinese fry-pan putting on the round empty hole ... l think it is some traditional way to cook something ... anyway l looked around and l took few tile-roof, made a cooking plane in the hole leaving the space for the woods to burn and covering the hole with a round stone that, surprisingly, was just near it almost covered with mud and it fitted very well! with the help of A put on it ... then we refined it, cahnging the tiles with bricks, 3 ricks as support to one tile-roof ... and voila` ... here is the oven!

here l filtered the front part so u can see better the roof-tile on the bricks

now l gotta go ... ciao see u later on

The Pinky Sky & FUJI-SAN

Here is what l talked about before!!! now u can see with your eyes ...
when l saw this pinky sky l grabbed the camera and went out and l met my neighbor,
an old woman that was telling to her 50 yrs old daughter how beautiful the sky was ...
then they saw me and told me to go to the river
but l replied that l didn't have time to go
and l started to shoot from there just nearby my house


and l shoot and shoot
(some more picture l will post in flickr when l have time)
then l go a little bit further down on the road
and what the HELL l see?
FUJI-SAN!!!???
so clear and so WOW?
(do u see it in the pict. below?)


l forgot all about time 'n' computer everything that l was doing,
even shooting from there ... and the old woman was even right!!!
l fled, just the spur of the moment, to take the camera bag and the bycicle
and WWOOOOOOMMMMM at the maximum speed
ZUM ZAM ZIUM left right straight
and PAFF trown the bicycle
and here it is!


getting darker and juicer
just like a flame of a candle
before blowing out
giving the maximum splendor

going back home
meeting this fellow city-dog


(^o^)/ BAU BAU

Obi - The Samurai Town

YO! today l was glued to this chair doing few things with this addicted machine that doesn't allow me much movement except for my hands and my eyeballs ... it happen that eventually l would remember to shake a little bit this out-of-sport body and thats what l did today when l went to

the kitchen around 6 o'clock PM and have a little YAHOO ... but l noticed that the sky was tremendously PINK!!!! just like in a dream, almost unreal!!! believe me when l say this!!! NO, no need to believe me because l'll show u what l mean ... but first lets finish with this samurai town, Obi.
So after eating delicious food that l talked about previously, l went for a walk in these streets that are still the original ones since samurai time, l mean the design of the town is the same as when it was designed from ... who?... bbhoooooo l don't know and who care?! anyway l went straight to the famous Obi Castle that fortunately it was free of charge to go in, whereas to go to some specific area needed to pay some fee but l chose the free option and so l went in like an apache and l liked the atmosphere ... there was almost nobody, thats what l like most , just very few or nobody ...aaaaaaahh it is another music. Then l sat down to an old almost rotten bench facing these BIG WALLS surrounding the main campus ... there was a beautiful silence with the chirping of birds and the cool oxygen the trees were offering and the vibe of these stones telling their stories ... l dont know for how long but then l moved in the campus inside this second walled fence and l found out that actually there is a school for children!!! WOW nice! a school inside the castle? thats real nice!!! so l explored more and went on the top and OOOOOOOOHHHH ... a vast park with very tall trees with the exit at the end ... there were only 2 gardeners doing their business and l went to the exit to give a look and WOW .... that was a real nice spot, l could feel like a ninjia watching his breathing going in and out of his nostril ... then l went back inside in the park that l loved it a lot and sat down to a more robust bench ... resting a little bit in the shade of these fellas trees ... then l said to myself (AND WITH WHO? u might think... right? because l talk to trees too) lets check how much this body of mine is in form, sportive, reflexive since l don't do any sport since 12 yrs ... so l started to jump like matrix on the fence and trying to walk in equilibrium on it like a ninjia tatatata ... well guys, l admit that l needed water after a couple of minutes but it was real fun!!! l went on like this for about half an hour ... l survived, thank you.
The reality was that l found out last year in internet this kind of sport, PARKOUR , and l liked it very much so l wanted to give it a try ... OK next life may be.
Going out of the castle l read the story of Obi castle on a board and l read that the houses surrounded with very strong and massive stone-walled just like in the picture on the right, it was meaning that the house belonged to a high level ranked samurai and usually they are nearest the castle and while going farther from it there are thinner fence, weaker walls, meaning ... yes bravo u guess it rightly ... a less powerful samurai and so on and so forth.


l told u that Madhupan started to work right?! well so we had dinner at 8 o'clock (and it was late because they had to eat at 5:30 PM and 8 PM is bed time and the alarm for the morning was at 3 AM ... for them, lucky me) but it was clear that l could not stay much in the sauna-shop so l suggested that the next day l would go to Nango, just 4 station more from obi, to stay a couple of days till they are free again and then l would have gone to Yakushima Island and so ... the next morning l took the train and went to A&N place leaving in peace these bread-making souls.

Loving Food

l went in this small restaurant that Madhupan recommended me, forgive me l forgot what its name but l cannot forget the food that l ate there.
(sorry, right now l'm hungry so l go to eat a mini pizza that l just made ... be back soon to go on)
Ok ... u can have a little glimpse at the end.
So as l entered inside l immediately liked the place, it was small, cozy, welcoming ... not like the usual restaurant with cute waitress girls that screams "IRASSHAIMASE~" with their flashing smile ... it means, in a nutshell: WELCOME! WHAT CAN I DO FOR YA?
but no, there was a man standing with a child in his arms ... now, l gotta tell this, l love japanese children, of course l love children internationally but the japanese ones ... somehow stand out. U should see them when they look at you with that small and vast open wide almond eyes ... It was so nice for me to meet at the first instance this a-little-bit-more than middle aged man with this child and both looking at me with surprised eyes!!!
WHAT? IS MY NOSE TOO LONG?
And with a simple smile he said "hai?" (yes?)
l sat down with ease, chose a simple menu and the amazing thing was that it was so cheap!!! 550 yen for 4~5 different dishes with acceptable portions accompanying a main dish ... WOW!!! ...when l finished l told him that l'll be back whenever l can. The food was so good and yet simple, l could really enjoy the food ... l went back there 3 more times and at the last time, l stopped the cook by his arm, that she herself brought me the lunch, and l told her (with food in my mouth) "sorry to stop you but your food is so OISHII (good) that l can feel that you cook with love ... ARIGATOO (thank you)"
She gave me a flashing smile (not like the cute waitress girls but a more innocent one) and after just 1 minute she brought me a dessert as present, a piece of cake ... l immediately ate a bite of it in front of her (and she was there waiting my comment on it) then l said "mmmhhh....mmmhhh...mmh? did u make this cake?" do you know what she answered? ...no.
LOL we laughed! .... l went away with a smile of satisfaction .... AH but l forgot to tell ya about the picture!!! well, they had this stuff that usually it is used to do all kind of scientific experiments like old times, may be even now, but they were using it to make coffee!!! EEEHH? Yesss, exactly.
Practically if somebody order a cup of coffee ... have to wait a day! because it is filtered drop by drop as u can see in the pic. LOL l liked it ... for me it means PATIENCE.

SLICE OF BREAD, TOMATO, A VERY LITTLE SPRINKLE OF SALT, ARTICHOKE,BLACK OLIVE,CAPER, ANCHOVIES, OLIVE OIL 'N' OREGANO ... GNAM!

I Had Fun

This is what l did ... it is a chinese/japanese ideogram meaning LOVE, AI.
l found this beautiful Flash game in the blog of Chamki ... just lovely!
u gotta try it!
just click, in the links on the left, Chamki on Yahoo!360.
HAVE FUN
and don't forget to show me ur piece of art ...

The Taji Mahal 'n' Free Hugs


Forgive me if it is taking time to go on with the blog ... well, whats the hurry?
So l was out today (yes, this is a little drift from the odissey ... just a quickie) and l went out in the night too, it is rare that l go out in the night but l gotta tell ya that it is very juicy!!!, to see an indian concert by japanese people ... not so bad.
Then on the way back to home at 23:15 around l stopped in shibuya plaza to do a night shooting ... damn l have to learn how to keep very still the camera when shooting without flash with low light ... after all l'm a beginner ... and l saw this BIG black building and l shot it ... then here on my pc l found out the TAJI MAHAL!!!! how hilarious.


And what more l saw? just look in the crowd and find out ...


YES ... so funny! and so nice too ....


l just hugged each one of them!


...EEEEEEHHH now 2 o'clock of the morning? chalo chalo

Spaghetti VS Rice

After we left from A's place we headed back towards MADHUPAN, it is the name of the bread shop, about 15~20 minutes by small-noisy-car, and before reaching at home we stopped by to some supermarket to buy food for ours body, since I'm italian and love to cook, it was the least thing that l could do for'em as a way of gratefulness for letting me staying in their place ... l cooked with reverence these dishes that u see right away here!





D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S






Sorry for making u feeling suddenly hungry ... unless you are a real vegetarian ... l say this because l wanna eat these 2 dishes right now!!! mmmmmmhhh mamma mia.
A-N-Y-W-A-Y ... the next day, if l remember good, M&N the bread people, had to start to work
and therefore in their little sauna-shop-house they became wildly busy and seeing that they don't need my help l went outside for a walk ... first l crossed a little hill to reach the other side to a big HOME CENTER where u find anything for "do it yourself" and stuff like that ... l was an idiot because l went with sandals so u can imagine the red spot that come on the feet's fingers ... l survived, and on the way l saw these rice fields, everywhere there are rice fields ... do u know that usually japanese people eat rice at breakfast, rice at lunch, rice at tea time and rice at dinner!!! and they never get bored! but good rice ... thats why they are happy when l cook spaghetti!!! LOL!!!
So in kyushu, that is the place which has the highest point (actually number 1 on the rank) of getting the strongest sunshine ... it is very HOT too, thats why it is so easy to see on many house's roofs the solar water-panel or even solar panel for electricity but mostly water panel, to have hot water and recycling too ... it is a beautiful way to live with these methods of using solar energy, thats what l would like to do in a future house or cafe ... and so, kyushu is the first of all japan to reap the rice crop, and l was lucky enough to see almost all the process of the rice growth, l'm saying almost because l didn't see the sowing part and the after crop. Just the middle step ... the rice of kyushu isn't of that high quality, because of too much hot ... it is still fabulous to eat it ... just the consistency of the rice ... how can explain it? u just need to come here to get what l mean, because it is not a philosophical thing.
And why l had to go to HOME-CENTER? because l was planning to go to YAKUSHIMA island and so l thought of buying a tent ... lets make life a little bit wild uh!? so l went to check the availability and prices and then l went back ... while passing again through the rice camp, or it was when l was going? one way or other, another beautiful thing for me to see is how fine and strong old japanese people ... still working at the shy age of 80 yrs old and they work good too and they even say hallo to you with pride and innocence ... lets say this, my owner of my actual hut is 83 or 84 (doesn't make so much difference) yrs old and still make vegetable fields and not small field ... ok l'll show u some day what l mean, have a little bit of patience.
Otherwise l never finish this post! so lets finish ... what l was saying?
AH, that l went back to change from sandals to shoes (a very intelligent act) to go out again to eat lunch in a place that M&N recommended and also to go around in the town, a samurai town.