The river bank

The weather has been fine these days. Walking along with the river bank early in the morning is very nice, when the weather is fine.　On the first day of this year, I saw the first sunrise there. Time flies so fast... We are at the end of the year already.   I'll be there to see the sunrise of the New Year tomorrow.　 I had not only good things, but also bad things this year. However, my feeling is quieter than usual now.
Thank you very much for all your visit, and encouraging comments all through the year.　I wish you all a peaceful and great new year.

このところずっと晴れの日が続いています。晴れた日の早朝、川の土手を散歩するのはとても気持ちよいです。今年の初日の出は同じ土手で迎えました。早いものでもうその一年も今日で終わり。明日また同じ場所で新年の初日の出を迎えているでしょう。良いことも悪いこともありましたが今例年より静かな気持ちでいます。
今年も一年間、本当にありがとうございました。皆様、どうぞ良い年をお迎えくださいね…。

Global warming here too?

Usually, the roses have a few small and compact flowers in December.  Sometimes the buds stay firm and never fully open.  However, this year, they are different.  Bigger and more flowers than usual are blooming in the sunshine now. It's just like spring..  It's so good to see their gentle appearance in the sunshine, but at the same time, it makes me a little bit worried.
Global warming....?  

I'm wondering if the creatures such as flogs that generally need to hibernate every winter can get enough sleep??? (The flog of this picture is one I met in Sept.)　

いつもなら12月に咲くバラの花はとても小ぶりで、蕾のままドライフラワー状態になってしまうものもあるほどなのですが、今年はちょっと違うのです。いつもより大きな花がしっかり花開いて春のよう。日ざしの中でとろけそうにしている優しげな姿には癒されますが、少々心配でもあります。 地球温暖化のこと。。。　写真は9月に見かけた蛙ですが、本来春までぐっすり眠るはずの蛙たち、寝不足になったりしないでしょうかね？

A shooting star

I happened to see a shooting star(it was very big!!) yesterday!
It was the first time to see a shooting star for me.
I was so surprised that I missed making a wish.
What a shame...

昨日流れ星を見ました!　しかもと～っても大きな流れ星でした!!
初めて見た流れ星。　感激のあまりお祈りするのを忘れてしまいました。
残念。

Meditation 2

It suddenly has gotten cold since yesterday. The tip of my nose is sensing the coldness. Sunset also comes very early(around 4:30pm).

I didn't update my blog for a while, but I've been continuing meditation. I'm still on the way to perfecting, but I feel it's working well. The book "Sadhana", which Yoshi-san recommended to me, helped me to meditate practically. I find the author of the book has a "beyond" religious mind. I have often had the feeling that words or religions are the mediums used to describe something that is beyond description, and sometimes they make this world confusing.

I make my mind empty and serene, then I start to feel a kind of "wholeness". I can feel very centered. You might think it is selfish to put oneself in the center, but interestingly, I feel everything I encounter, positive things or negative things, are like my cells and I feel they are dear to me. When I meet something(or someone) negative, naturally, I feel I want to change them into positive or peaceful things.

This meditation book also reminded me of two books I read a few years ago, and now I am flipping through the books once again in my free time. One is "Tuesdays with Morrie", and the other is "Music of the Mind". As for the Music of the Mind, I find it very poetic and beautiful, but I don't know whether I can understand the contents correctly or not with my current English level. So I want to read the Japanese translation, or I wonder if I could get someone who could kindly explain it to me, someday.

Red Maple Leaves

I wonder how and where time passes by...I find the leaves of the Maple Tree in our tiny garden have turned a bright red colour. It might be strange, but I sometimes feel that the maple leaves in the sunshine look newborn. However, the tree will soon shed all its leaves, and then it will stay calm while the passage of time brings the following spring. 　I heard that chemicals found in certain plants are very similar to those, which are produced by thinking, in human brains. Do they sometimes think of something during the flow of time...?
いったい時の通り道はどこにあるのか…気づくと庭の楓の葉が彩りを変えています。楓の葉は太陽のひかりを受けると、透き通った赤い色がふしぎと生まれたての命のように見えたりもするのですが、あと少しすれば葉をすべて落とし次の春が来るまで静寂の中で時の流れに身をまかせるのでしょう。人間が思考するときに出すのと似たような物質が植物の中にも見られるのだそうですが、植物も時の流れの中で何かを思ったりするのでしょうか。。。