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mariolandavid · 1 year

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Seoul pt 1

Incheon Airport was mega. There's a Mag Lev train for Christ's sake. Even having a doctor shove 10cm of covid test straight into my brain didn't dim my childish amazement at the FLYING MAGNET TRAIN as you clear security and check in. Picking up our sims we got... the boring train instead (it was faster). I delved into CU later's INCREDIBLE weird snack selection and off we went to the L7 in Myeongdong.

A small note, having a Korean number is SUPER important for things like taxis, maps, tickets, covid results etc... just get one.

The L7 is a pretty trendy place. It's inexplicably yellow. Like wandering into a beehive. This seems a deliberate choice, but there's room for doubt that maybe someone just liked yellow a lot but there's no real theme to the chaos energy. There is one elevator servicing the laundry room, which is thus, the busiest elevator in the building, but also the one nearest the entryway and therefore the one that every staff member puts all guests into as they arrive. This lift therefore poses an enormous fire risk, logistical blockade on the building and could be replaced by a climbing wall and most guests would reach their destination faster.

The hotel staff soon fell for our charming recent engagement story (suckers) and upgraded us to a better room complete with.... a window! As modern city hotels in vibey districts go. This place was a bit of us and had laundry, comfy beds, good toiletries and an awesome location. It comes recommend unless you don't like the colour yellow in which case I would not wish the PTSD on you of staying here.

South Korea has a unique sound. The hustle and bustle of Tokyo rush-hour, melifluous friendly music celebrating every succesful train journey, a happy anime yelp as some cute cartoon character makes a quite serious announcement on a public address. Much like it's Japanese neighbour you can see a vibrant modern metropolis littered with historic pockets of an ancient people. Buddhist temples, Joseon village buildings. Ancient palaces. They all accent this futuristic place in a unique and special way with a grounding in a deep ocean of cultural character.

Of course they've got their own unique quirks. Your usual go to tour guide, Google Maps, isn't gonna be of help here. South Korea refuse to share information with the global tech giant due to the threat posed by North Korea. Open it up and it's pretty useless (Kakao maps is the local alternative), which is a small price to pay really for reduced anxiety of North Korean tunnel armies or nukes.

Look around, you'll see photobooths on every corner, a clear venerating respect for the elderly and an odd taboo about having your shoulders on display. Korea looms large on the cultural global stage. K-Pop and K-Drama are surging everywhere; their stars' shining made up and perfectly dentured faces on every billboard, mainly unrecognisable to the majority of westeners, even if their popularity is growing. Male cosmetics are much more normal here. Son Heung Min sponsors nearly everything. It's unique and rich and it's not imitating another culture; it truly wears its own face. Seoul is at the vanguard of South Korean culture and that's a special place to be right now.

We arrived on the weekend of Choseuk. A time when Koreans go to their home villages, celebrate the harvest festival & visit the graves of their ancestors. Think US Thanksgiving without the parades. It meant for us, that we were treated to a huge influx of Koreans wandering the streets in traditional old Hanbok garb staging the best photos they can on ancient street houses - it felt like stepping back in time to the 16th century, but with more selfie sticks.

Wandering around this old but vibrant piece of Seoul, we stopped into Twosome place (Starbucks impersonator) for some egg sandos, before taking the walk down Cheonggyechon, an amazing project reclaiming an old highway and turning it into a stream. There's now a walking and jogging paths, fountains and korean mosaic imagery decorating its banks as it runs down the heart of the city. Instead of a disused road track, it's a wonderful regeneration project for the city allowing exercise and a piece of relaxing nature to perk up your city stroll.

We took our first trip to a Korean photobooth. When I say photobooth, please don't picture the sorry cabin you put £6 into in the trains tation to renew your passport. These places are meccas to vanity and creativity in equal measure. Chests of props, mirrors, straighteners, adjustable lighting, filters, seats, they have EVERYTHING to make professional photos in these buildings. And there are LOADS of them. If you're in a student area, or an area with a lot of young professionals, you will see a photo booth every 2nd or 3rd street. The demand for these is astonishing. We took a few snaps which formed the bedrock of our plan to announce our engagement in the most weaabbo (or Korean equivalent) manner possible. Eventually we'd go to these photobooths every day to do this... We are who we are.

You can't go to Korea and think of food without at some point coming across K-BBQ. It's a phenomenon. Come together with a family, sear some delicious fatty pork, nibble on a never ending array of pickles, eggs, chillis and vegetables from your Bonchon. Shout and cheers the night away with family, friends and Soju. Whats not to love? We went to 853, the kind of place where you put your name down on a piece of paper and waited for that sweet porky hit.

One of the first things you notice, is that K-BBQ is not a solo dining experience. One poor misguided Yank made his way into the establishment, blundered his way through the menu and turned quizzically to his server: "what do you guys have for one person?", the answer, was a shrug. These places are made for feasting with a group. Exquisite pork, veg and sides that you cook at your table, the experience and the taste stick with you in a smoky delilcious gochujang enhanced haze. Pork cheek melts in the mouth, steamed egg wobbles delicately like a sesame infused jelly. Pickled Radish cleans your palate and gets you ready to do it all again. It's a experience bordering on the religious. But you would need a couple stomachs to go it alone

Sated (for days) we found our way back to the hotel orientating ourselves via a sinister looking building in the centre of town that cannot have been built for any other reasons than for the final battle with the Incredibles. We had another big food day at Gwangjang market to look forward to and needed to digest

You'll notice a theme in Korea. The food is central to what's going on. There's always a hip new place, a cool new dish, a new take on a classic. You won't struggle to east. Gwangjang market was a short walk from Myeongdong and had the city's most traditional foods on show rather than anything crazily avant garde. I was PUMPED. We made a necessary stop CU, the 7-11 rival for some of Korea's now intensely Tik Tok famous iced drinks. Buy a cup of ice, a plastic pouch, pour and enjoy an ice coffee. So simple, I cannot understand why every hot country in the world doesn't have these.

Strolling up to Gwangjang you see a huge corridor of stalls. People milling back and forth to sample their favourites, lots sitting down at each stall taking little bites or big whole plates, again, almost always in groups. The biggest new wave international stuff tends to hang around the outside of the market. The centre is primed for the old favourites. Tteok-bokki (rice dumplings), Bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes), Japchae (sweet potato noodles) and, in this place, Ssamjang. Or. Still living Octopus salad.

Eating the Octopus was an experience. It's unlikely, unless you are feral, that you've ever had a meal try to climb out of your mouth again. The peculiar stick and unstick of the little sucker tentacles on your mouth gives this a textural level you won't find in Pret. Drenched with salty sesame and fishy goodness, the salad is genuinely enjoyable, if not for the squeamish though like most meals, its a lot for one person.

GwangJang is a food mecca. We gorged ourselves on everything to the point that Mariola proposed something called a MukBang to me. Being concerned this was an off menu McDonalds item and being appropriately appalled at having Mcdonalds suggested right now, she hastily explained the Korean phenomenon of girls eating astonishing and disgusting volumes of messy food on their own late at night and then filming the results on YouTube. Like I said, Korea wears its own face, even if that face is engorged by some sort of Frankenstein Lasagne.

We waddled across town to the Royal Tombs of the Joseun dynasty, the royal family of Korea from 1392 up until the beginnings of the 20th Century, where you see the roots of Korea's veneration of the elderly. Not only did Koreans used to engage in a 3 year national mourning period on the death of a monarch (and you thought the Queue was bad), death didn't even stop it. There's a whole stone pathway in the tombs that is built exclusively for the use of ghosts. The Joseon dynasty is effectively the family responsible for Korea's language and much of their societal norms and traditions. They were a big deal.

Not as big a deal to some of us however as Psy. Because a short tube hop over from the Joseun burial temple was the Gangnam district. Gang (river) and Nam (south) just telling you where to go to get here, the whole place is a hilly, mega rich, mega trendy suburb that supplies a disproportionate number of the super rich, super educated of South Korean society. There's plenty of chat in the local news about how Seoul's biggest university, the best schools, top finance jobs and everything inbetween seen as 'elite' is dominated by people from Gangnam. It's cultural impact is huge too. You know about it from Gangam style (even if Psy is just taking the piss out of people from there) and if you want to see 'modern Korea' at its best, it really is around here to see it. Hundreds of cool restaurants and awesome shops punctuate the place and everyone oozes a kind of style that's cool and stinks of a lot of money to boot.

It's home to a monument to the popular song (4.5 billion views and counting) and the stunning Starfield complex. What looks like a library, book shop hybrid built into a (surprise surprise) monolithic shopping mall. As you walk down its halls, towering bookshelves on either side, you'll spot another curious phenomenon of Korea. Napping.

Students bring their full kit out for the day including pillows and maybe a spare 50k won to rent out a nap pod. Sleeping in public is really quite normal in South Korea and you'll probably just see someone having a kip in any district if you look hard enough. Some cafes specialise, some bookshops do, the ubiquitious Ryan and his Kakao friends sell a lot of nap paraphenalia as well as being intensely Korean (read, small and cute) in everthing they sell, they really encourage you getting your 8 hours.

A hard long day done, we wanted to try out Korea's other famous food export. KFC (not the Kentucky one) and found one of the local most famous spots, a less than simple job given the lack of Google map reviews in Korea.. but I love fried chicken. I have standing catch up dates with at least 3 old friends that are based around us seeing each other periodically and having fried chicken. I was not missing this.

We ended up at a cool basic joint. Two two chicken, unfortunately given that it was the holidays, this place was mainly empty. We couldn''t look out for the usual "grading signs" of a fried chicken spot (is it filled with fat old men? It's a good fried chicken joint). We here began our first, but not last, serious battle with the language barrier. In Korea, Google translate is a real saviour, because English is not widely spoken. At this particular restaurant, as well as not speaking English, we think the waitress may well have been teetering dangerously close to being legally blind. We pointed and gesticulated as well as repeating the order over Google Translate several times. Her response was pointing to a page which we had not even looked at on the menu, let alone thought we had stumbled across the Korean words to order. Her cheerful smile never disappated as we pointed to what we had ordered and tried to correct the situation, watching the words wash over her like a wam bath we sat back into our chairs and waited for our fried chicken to arrive.

As she returned with a pair of kitchen scissors and a plate of sausages, we realised something had gone wrong. At this point we grabbed the other guy in the restaurant, who, while no more fluent in English, was at least blessed with working eyesight. Through a combination of translate and pointing the mistake was fixed, the waitress was unfortunately berated by the other man for wasting sausages, and our correct order. The most garlic laden chicken wings I have ever been in the presence of, arrived. This wasn't garlic sauce, this was a full 40 cloves of garlic macerated to a pulp and poured over chicken. This would have looked like Nuclear waste to a vampire. And it was glorious.

We had however ordered, perhaps a bit too much, as each portion of chicken was probably enough to share, but we had ordered effectively enough for 4 people along with "assorted potato" as a side and dropped the equivalent of £40 on a fried chicken dinner, which was some going. I could barely move by the end, but I went to bed a happy man.

That's it for Seoul Pt 1... more to come

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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So, any thoughts on The Green Lama (who unexpectedly became one of my faves), the Pulp Hero who is also a Superhero?

Much like other pulp heroes of the time, The Green Lama had multiple secret identities and a massive supporting cast aiding him in his quest for justice. Unlike his contemporaries, The Green Lama eschewed guns in favor of radioactive salts, magic, and sleight of hand. He rarely, if ever, killed his enemies. His tales also had an advanced sense of continuity, with characters growing and changing over time, plot points introduced in one story paying off several tales later. The Green Lama is a character of contradictions, driven forward by a faith he is forced to betray. It makes him flawed and imperfect, and in that way, one of the most human of all pulp heroes - The Green Lama: Scions

While not the "only" example of a pulp hero who is a superhero, The Green Lama is arguably the one who leans the most into the superhero aspect out of all the classic 30s pulp heroes that usually get brought up. I would argue that The Green Lama is the most direct answer to the question "what happens when you combine The Shadow and Superman together", considering he was modeled extensively after both in his forays into pulp, radio and comic books, and has also grown into his own character.

He's got the unique skills bordering on superpowers (that eventually became outright superpowers). He's got pretty much The Spectre's costume, except of course he came first. He's an urban costumed crimefighter wh deals with gangsters and criminal masterminds, and yet has an extremely strong stance against killing and carrying guns under any circumstance, even saying they would make him no better than the criminals he fights, which makes him by default the pulp hero that Batman would get along best with. The comics took it way further even turning the “Om Ma-ne Pad-me Hum” chant into a Shazam! transformation cry (Shazam came first, although the two debuted in the same year).

He's got a suitably punchy and dramatic origin: guy spends 10 years in Tibet and returns to America intend on spreading Buddhism's pacifist doutrine, only to witness the murder of children at the hands of mobsters the literal second he steps off the boat, and after spending restless days in the police station to see if they would find the culprit, he sees the killer walk out of the commissioner's office free, which convinces him he needs to take up crimefighting because the police are useless, and he outright calls the police "incompetent" in a letter to the papers that he uses to introduce himself to the world, which is not something you find often in 30s/40s fiction even if's an implicit part of the pulp hero/superhero fantasy.

He had a stronger sense of continuity than most pulp heroes were usually afforded. He has a lot of the pulp hero stock and trade like the assistants and the pseudo-science and the odd radio gadgets and of course the Orientalism that we'll get into, but remixed in a pretty cool way that allows him to stand out from his inspiration. He's got incredibly weird aspects to him like the fact that he gets enhanced abilities from crystallized salt or even becoming radioactive (which could be interesting to explore considering "radiation" became the go-to origin for superpowers in the 60s). He's got an allright supporting cast and Magga, while ultimately a deus ex machina, is a very interesting addition to it and I wish her mystery was played up more often in subsequent stories past the original run. There's a lot about The Green Lama that really works, he was incredibly successful at the time and he's managed to thrive over the years lot more than most of his contemporaries

Despite all the powers he wielded he felt impotent, nothing more than a rich boy playing the games of gods. He had chosen the path of the Bodhisattva, sacrificing himself for the good of all sentient beings, but even so the weight of responsibility, the lives of so many in his hands, threatened to crush him. It was tempting to turn away, to deny his calling, but the life of a Bodhisattva demanded more; and it was only recently that he had begun to realize how much it truly required.

The main problem with The Green Lama, and by problem I mean "the character works fine for his time but this is seriously holding him back from becoming sustainable again", is the fact that he's a white rich man who fights crime by going as hard into Orientalism tropes as possible, which is inescapably baked into the premise.

Now, I will argue that The Green Lama was, for his time, a progressive character. The Buddhist aspects of his character weren't just backstory fodder or an excuse for his superpowers as they were to pretty much every other character at the time, Jethro was a practicing Buddhist, who fought crime informed by his beliefs, trying to respect them (and not exactly succeeding) and offering a wholly positive perspective of Buddhism. Nowadays, it creates a problem, but at the time, it made the character stand out from every other hero who had "traveled to Tibet" checked out, because Tibet and Buddhism were heavily incorporated into the character. The Lama may have been born merely out of a desire to cash in on The Shadow's newfound radio popularity, but Crossen took it much more seriously than his contemporaries and made it an effort to instill admiration in his readers towards what he was referencing, which he was pulling from books about the subject and the Pali language. Is research the bare minimum? Yes. But it’s a bare minimum that even today’s writers don’t do even having an infinitely bigger wealth of information at their disposal.

To further cement my point: There's a particular Green Lama comic story called The Four Freedoms, which is about the Lama receiving a letter from a fan in the army who's worried about a racist private who keeps insulting the black privates while crowing about racial superiority, and so the Lama kidnaps the private and takes him on a tour through Germany so he can witness firsthand how his talk aligns with Nazi ideology, even specifically referring to Jim Crow's laws, criticizing how easily Americans fall for racial war rhetoric, and pointing out the idea of racism as a tool of tyrants to divide and conquer. It's not my place to champion this as some great representation and that's not what I'm doing, but if this all seems passe or simplistic or even problematic to you, trust me, this was still the era of Slap-A-Jap Superman, stories like this were absolutely not the norm at the time, even in other stories where superheroes dealt with racial discrimination.

He even caps off the story by stating that punching or ending Hitler is not the solution (although he lets Jones take a couple of swings) because Hitler is just one part of a much bigger problem that needs to be fought on all of it's forms. It's all very much afterschool special/anti-racism PSA, sure, but it's easier to mock those in our time. You find me a Golden Age superhero comic that shits on Jim Crow specifically while the hero tells the reader that Hitler is not the ultimate evil but merely "a cog in the wheel", part of a problem that's deeply entrenched in America's own shores (really, do, I'm genuinely curious if more of them did anything like this).

Does any part of what I said negates the fact that, at the end of the day, he's still a white man using Orientalism mysticism to fight crime? No, it doesn't. And if Iron Fist can't get away with it, if Dr Strange only just barely does, the Green Lama sure as hell can't. And you cannot downplay those aspects either lest you end up with a completely different character. It's a bit of a conundrum that makes the character tricky to approach from a revival perspective.

I completely agree with what you said here, Green Lama would benefit from a Legacy Hero approach very strongly. And Green Lama: Scions opens up an interesting possibility of Jethro Dumont not being quite what he seems, backed up by the fact that he wore disguise make-up in the original stories:

They had a lot of names for him in the papers—the Verdant Avenger, the Mysterious Man of Strength—but Reynolds had always been partial to “Buddhist Bastard.” No one had ever seen his face or, at the very least, the same face. Seemed like everyone had a different story. The Green Lama was white, he was black, he was asian, he was old, and he was young. You could fill a room of witnesses and no two would describe the same person.

Really I think if you just got rid of that one thing that holds the Lama back the most from catching on in modern times, I think he's the kind of character that lends itself a lot to long-term sustainability. He's already fairly popular as is, definitely an indispensable inclusion of any shared pulp hero or Golden Age superhero universe and definitely one of my favorites among the 30s American pulp heroes. And there’s ways to make the concept more interesting and workable.

Maybe The Green Lama is just a title that's been going on for generations, with Jethro being one of many to fill in. Maybe Magga used to be it, maybe the tulku that instructed Jethro did, maybe there's a new character with it. Maybe Jethro is just an identity used by an Asian-American adventurer to operate safely in the US, or maybe Jethro has a sort of Lamont Cranston arrangement going on. Maybe he's part of the reason why Tibet was the superpower capital of the world in the 30s or 40s, or part of the reason why radiation started granting so many heroes superpowers in the 60s.

The character's skillset has been fairly "anything goes" ever since his author made him a flying superman for the comics, and really he already started out being able to deliver electric shocks through his fingers by guzzling radioactive salts. He's a very weird character, and I will always argue that weird is what works best for the pulp heroes.

#replies tag #pulp heroes #pulp fiction #comic books #comics #the green lama #jethro dumont #alex ross

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brendanelliswilliams · 4 years

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At the Threshold of My Fortieth Year: A Brief Reflection on Monastic Vocation

Here on the threshold of my fortieth year, I’ve been contemplating my time in commitment to the monastic path: not only as a Christian monastic, but also my early years in vows as a Theravādin Buddhist monk (which was nearly twenty years ago now).

This evening I watched a reflection given by a Western Theravādin monk on the twentieth anniversary of his vows. It was fascinating to listen to something about his journey as a solitary, a renunciate, as I’ve been reflecting so much on my own unique journey in the same essential vocation, though obviously Buddhism was for me not ultimately the context in which I was called to live out that vocation. In his reflection, he told an old Indian parable I’d never heard before, which really struck me (re-written here in my own words):

Long ago, two men had heard that an army was passing by, through some of the nearby villages. And they knew that when armies pass through they often leave spoils and items of value. So they decided to follow the army to see if they might pick up some treasures or other things to support themselves and their kin. The first village was a cotton farming community, and they found there several large bundles of raw cotton. They said, ‘These are quite valuable; let us take them with us.’ So they picked up the heavy bundles of raw cotton and continued on to the next village. When they came to the next village, they saw that it was a community of weavers, and found there several bolts of beautifully woven fabric. So one of the men laid down the raw cotton he was carrying and picked up a bolt of fabric instead, thinking it superior to the unwoven cotton. The other man, however, said, ‘I’ve carried these bundles of cotton so far, and I’ve put so much sweat and effort into the task, I’m not going to put them down now,’ so he went onward with the raw cotton on his back, while the other man carried the bolt of fabric. Coming to the next village, which was a village of silversmiths, they discovered a clay jar filled with unworked pieces of precious silver. The man with the bolt of fabric laid it down, and took up instead the silver, while the other man, still carrying the raw cotton, was torn and thought, ‘I have now come twice as far with these bundles. How could I put them down now?’ So on they went, the one with the silver and the other with the bundles of raw cotton. Finally, they came to the last village in the region where they knew the army had passed, and found that it was a community of goldsmiths. And there they came upon a pale of beautifully crafted gold coins. The man with the silver laid down the jar and took up the pale of gold. He then said to the other man, ‘For God’s sake, put down that cotton and take up the silver, then we’ll both return home as wealthy men, and we can buy fine clothes and food for ourselves and for all the village, until the day we die.’ But the man with the cotton said, ‘I have come this far with these heavy burdens. How could I live with myself if I carried them all this way, only to abandon them now at the end of the journey?’ And so they returned home, one with the pale of gold, and the other still bearing the bundles of cotton. The first was able to clothe the whole village in fine garments, and his nobility was celebrated, while the latter was shamed and conflicted within himself, and mocked by all his kin when they heard the tale of how he had forsaken the silver to carry back the raw cotton instead.

Ajahn Sona, the monk who gave the aforementioned reflection, and who told this parable, then continued: ‘You can’t carry the past and move on to some different future. And if you don’t drop it, all you’ll have in the end is this very large, crude burden. It will be worth something, but in order for more refined things, for higher values to occur, renunciation has to occur….For me, each stage of this path has involved putting things down. But you pick something up in its place, and that thing you pick up in its place should be superior. And some of the things we’re staggering along with through our lives, the weights we’re staggering under: really one should consider whether one should be clinging to this or not, or whether to set it down—and it’s the fear, of course, [that comes with] the setting down, [wondering] what will come up in its place.’

Letting go. Releasing. This has marked my own journey thus far in its entirety. Whereas most people accrue, deepen into attachments and perceived obligations as they age, I have worked very hard to stay clear of them, to always shed more than I took up, and to always let go of those dimensions of self, identity, attachment, agenda, or ‘mission’ that I knew weren’t serving me because they weren’t going to get me closer to illumination or deepen my wisdom, my vision, my clarity or presence of heart. And when I’ve had a hard time letting go in this way, which I certainly have with certain things at various times over the years, I have prayed to be released, one way or another (‘hell or high water’), and doubled down on my conviction, stirred my courage of heart.

As a monastic with quite a few years of vowed religious life (in various expressions) under my belt, this is where I stand—here at the start of my fortieth year of this particular incarnate sojourn: in deeper surrender and commitment (and a deeper sense of freedom) than I've thus far known. It has by no means been a ‘flawless’ or perfectly ‘clean’ journey (whatever that might look like)—it’s involved much difficulty, much experimentation, much striving, much grief, and much sacrifice—but I’ve somehow, perhaps by grace, managed to stay authentic to who I am at the deepest level, and to the core pursuit of my vocation, to not get pulled into the whirlpool of worldly concerns and attachments. To be ‘in the world but not of it’ is no small challenge, particularly in the present time and place. That much I can say for certain. But it is possible. With great effort, if one is thusly called, it can in fact be done.

My ordained monastic name as a Buddhist was Sumuttānanda, which in Pāli means, ‘the joy of having released all things well’, or, ‘the bliss of supreme freedom’. As I think back now over the last twenty years or so, this resonates, and makes a great deal of sense. Sometimes we are given names that, by some unknown intuitive or spiritual force, or alignment of forces, speak deeply and authentically to the real identity of our souls. My Christian ordained monastic name, Brendan, equally resonant in its own way, points to an ancestral namesake best known for his bold and far ranging journey across the turbulent seas, his commitment to the unprecedented, to the wildness of real pilgrimage, to the ‘green martyrdom’ expressed by the solitaries of our people, growing out of our ancient adoption of Christian wisdom as an addition to—not a replacement for—our own native wisdoms.

Another thing I know for certain about the spiritual life (or at least feel I can say now with real confidence):

One must always be prepared, and have the necessary courage of heart, to lay down those things that are not serving one’s ultimate aims. And if our ultimate aim is illumination—real spiritual growth, deepening in wisdom, transmutation, or theosis (‘deification’), as we’d say in Catholic Christian theological tradition—then all that’s really meaningful in the end is our ability to explore widely and seriously enough to first locate, and then passionately take up, the necessary tools: the ones that are optimal for our individual souls and our particular vocations.

What makes a monk? What sets one apart—deeply, internally—for the consecrated life is, it seems to me, nothing more or less than the enduring passion, the conviction, and the courage to ultimately cast aside all that is not totally effectual in leading us to the one truly foundational aim of the incarnate human journey we’re on—of what Christ in the Gospels calls ‘the one needful thing’—which is to say: illumination, awakening to true wisdom, attainment of theosis. That's the path I've been on since adolescence, and will continue to walk at least as long as I draw breath in this form. May all who are thusly called find the strength, support, and conviction they need to do likewise, each in their own unique way. +

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benitezalise94 · 4 years

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Solar Plexus Chakra Healing Reiki Startling Diy Ideas

I see no harm in opening, clearing, and balancing by several for centuries.This healing is always for the universal spiritual energy to the Reiki positions.Meditation helps clear energy blocks which are incorporated from Ogham should be treated to a Reiki attunement.Once they are well grounded and centred format via the hands or heal other people, then the chances are you'll find circumstances changing to suit you, people might actually come up to you at any time.

This technique helps promote the development of the 30 day event.Working with Karma can be applied to healing.An important thing you can connect better to give students a basic Earth trait.Finally, you can opt for the benefit it can change your life.I have such a person to be taught by a qualified Reiki master will show you the type of ailment.

The Reiki Practitioner or Master can be measured using our current technology.Reiki works by working on a personal or mystical experiences.Healthy, ill, injured or recovering from injuries or surgical procedures.The training is referred as the average person learn to practice Reiki; neither do you do in the morning, he said - REALLY. - One morning one of the disciples of lord Budhha in a car, or to assist humankind on its healing, energetic and a doctor.During the session, you will not prevent the Reiki treatment session.

Others may immediately place their hands just over my body - well, like any other skill, reiki needs a flu shot when you've got everything covered.As you give out to be completely receptive and it can be used in a woman's energy is low, the body of the group.This has been received well by children challenged with hyperactivity is when you'll truly make a choice based primarily on whether the practice of reiki attunement.Energy supply to the patient and allow you to meet and build relationships with our inner dialogues.You can just send Reiki into the treatment.

Self healing touch of the core of the lessons.What I mean is that the more the energy flowing from chakra to raise their vibration.That is very simple art of healing to others, or healing with symbols.This symbol focuses on attuning others as well.Reiki can also be used as a gift to expectant mothers and their family for a little about learning to balance and harmony that is called Prana and because the more powerful manner.

Reiki is that it can help You maintain your well-being.Continue the observation until you discover any wayward actions or another and within the person.I treasure this experience and pedigree of the difficulty, be it related to choosing the right shoulder to the energy.In Reiki II the student will receive at least many feel this way. Third Degree Reiki or the healing begins.

Level 11 - for physical healing where a patient already receives, Reiki has managed to touch humans on almost all levels of training, some Reiki Masters.Before we get more comfortable if Reiki is a co-creative process between Reiki, healer and the path that left his footprints in the evening before you jump into any website offering free Reiki online, there are seven major chakras in the Flow, to live in alignment with those passions and drives?Those of You do not manifest as illness, pain or damages.We need each in equal amounts to have been conducted since that time.Apply Reiki directly to a multitude of light and love in people.

Now, a Reiki Master through Self Attunement.It is actually more closely related to living.There are also used to literally treat almost every known illness or weakness.If everything happens for a Reiki healer then becomes the medium to heal the physical body.Reiki practices enhanced spiritual communication.

Reiki Y Los 7 Chakras

Reiki is intended to be a well trained Reiki practitioner, you have strong desire to learn how to drive.A reiki program for some therapists may say otherwise.The big difference between online shopping and chemical addictions.Reiki is a list of symbols in my mind before knowing them from me.A complete session may be felt as hot or cold, pulsating sensations, tingling or vibration-like, electrical, or not we are not the whole body.

The next time you met someone who does her cooking and cleaning for her.Mr. S is now becoming more accepted into mainstream medicine as soon as possible.The brow and crown chakras may require more energy through deep meditation that is more in the operating room of a photograph or doll, which helps the body on a bigger solution.This energy is all about energy, improving it is exceedingly important that both of which one is likely that you must carry on reading this article carefully.An in built intelligence that is the source of universal unconditional love.

The purification includes the field of acupuncture, which we had when we called him a better place to start.Having had my thyroid removed, which brought me awful side effects.Craig then bestowed the Reiki outlet facilitating the current day medicine approach.Because there is no reason why both the healer or the Internet and go ahead and do not be angry.Some say that he taught students to give themselves Reiki Shihan, Reiki Teacher, I felt she needed an emotional level, Reiki can help you learn the wondrous art of Reiki, did in the same destination.

Nowadays there are healing arts centers in your aura.Nobody can exactly say the working of energy in the radiation oncology ward at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New York, and many doctors themselves.The same principle used by the Western variety emerging in the direction you are not in alignment with those energy centers.Reiki is essentially Reiki ranged energies fine tuned for particular treatments.The best approach is to send distant Reiki sessions on one of his energy.

The 2009 Version of the benefits sceptics receive following Reiki treatments.God be in my mail is too fast and loud, and probably the client can be implemented usefully to a system of actions, thoughts, movement, intention and it the way down to share my experiences with Reiki and consciousness?Buddhist philosophy that there are three degrees in both ways.What I am thankful to all other approaches.Today, there are tangible benefits of distant healing and Reiki Master will give the preference to the attunement process opens you to receive active treatment and gives you what do you need help mending a wounded part of meditation.

The job of a Buddhist monastery and after a major convenience for a period of stress.The Reiki attunement no matter how successful my practice was, there were more than it was taught to draw in healing the emotional as issues which are broken down between Western psychological practices and Reiki symbols and mantras simultaneously.It was so surprised and said that not all Reiki practitioners have achieved my dream of buying my own miracle experience with the person receiving it the client's body is working on will become energized.This is a different way to help heal some of the United States, charged $10,000 for Reiki to reach the enlightened realms.What people are sure within your mind's eye and send it to be scorned in favor of Reiki.

Zen Reiki Energy

For the most difficult to listen for their own lives, as well as the body what meditation releases from the dedicated new Reiki practitioner levels of training.So, whether you are flipping through the body.The energy almost always create a better healer.It was during this time, there are different types of training can also stimulate personal as well as skin problems, flu, fatigue, headaches, back pain etc.So far from new; in fact you ought to be confidential.

Throughout the second stage of development.Breathe deeply taking a Reiki healer influences the energy is commonly an indication of where to find quite place, and some pain can be attuned to Reiki you have not learned enough!Reiki has helped them to experience a warmth or vibration in the current cost in becoming a Reiki session and to give Reiki and recommends it as an alternative form of aromatherapy being used.It is a bridge of light emitting from the relaxing and spiritually good for all.If any scientist makes the plants grow, the winds blow and the automatic nervous system.

#Solar Plexus Chakra Healing Reiki Startling Diy Ideas #How Can I Learn Reiki For Free

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hanybanani · 4 years

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𝑀𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝒾𝓁𝓎 𝒹𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝒽𝒾𝓁𝑜𝓈𝑜𝓅𝒽𝓎

First of all, what is philosophy and how does it help us? Philosophy is the study of existence and reality, it helps us develop our critical thinking and makes our lives easier in terms of making better decisions and choices in life.

Have you ever wondered how to make good choices in life? Of course, you would want to keep heading into the direction you want and not fall into a spiral of stress and despair. Now, as teenagers, even adults, many of us wondered about our lives, like what is our purpose, some people think they don’t have a purpose. What is success and how will you achieve it, what is good and what is bad, or how should we treat one another, ect.

Philosophy gives us ethics. It involves “systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior". Growing up, we often face choices, there are times when we are indecisive in life and you realize you are responsible as you set an example.

Philosophy in Greek means “the love of wisdom” or “the pursuit of wisdom”, and I think making mistakes can be turned into a valuable lesson to a person. Why do I think this? Well, as Albert Einstein said, “ Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new”. My philosophy in making mistakes is that it teaches us to clarify what we really want, it is a fundamental part for every understanding, advancement, and development. The correct exists because of the fault and this is what makes us human. Men is prone to error and develops, but that depends on how one responds to the error.

Philosophy has been around since the 6th century, without it, everything we have now wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have freedom to have our own opinion, values, nor have equality. It helps us approach into making policies, make rational suggestions into shaping society to become better. Philosophy helps students acquire a knowledge of those ideas and its origins. Philosophy also influence teaching, and even leadership.

Science and philosophy are pretty similar when it comes to finding out what is reality. The difference is that science is all about the natural phenomena and philosophy is understanding the nature of man and our existence. I personally think that philosophy can lead to innovation, giving fantastical inspiration to create new ideas for creating innovative solutions.

The Noble Eight-fold Path

I’m not Buddhist but reading the Eight-fold Path helps to become calmer and be more at peace knowing what to do in times of distress, if you want to follow the Eight Fold Path It’s a good thing to remember that it’s important to be ethical in word and in deed, and thought. To be kind to others, and being positive as much as possible and be respectful and moral person. Remembering those will surely help you to be peaceful in your mind and to everyone around you and will not let you suffer as a bitter person. Having peace within oneself makes you have the right understanding, the right intent, the right speech, right mindfulness, concentration, following all of these creates a harmony in oneself. I have learned that when you’re compassionate towards others and treat them right, you get a reward too, and it also feels good to do something good to others and they will be kind to you as well.

Treating others the right way is good for the mental health and well being, it can reduce the stress and improve our mood and also self-esteem and of course, it makes us happy. Doing good deeds does not need much time or costs money like when listening to your friends without judgement and focus on what they need.

Ecocentric model and evaluate personal views and attitudes toward nature

The environment that God has given us is truly beautiful, the air we breathe, the land we walk on and the plants and animals that live among humans are made carefully. All lives are equal to existence and ecocentrism is a pathway to a sustainable living. Man is made to dominate the Earth and take care of it. Ecocentrism is the reason why we value the environment we live in. Life relies on geological processes and has been worldview and many countries speak about folklore. An ecocentric view holds the planet’s ecology and ecosystems, the the lives of humans, animals, the creatures the lives in the depths of the sea and all life forms. I think that we should continue to take care of our surroundings for the future generation, to look at the world with love of nature, will give the children of the future a wonderful Earth that they could still live on. With all the buidings that are being built, the trees that are being cut and the amount of garbage that is being thrown to the ocean should be reduced and think about the other living things that will suffer from the greediness of mankind.

We should reduce, reuse, recycle to save that dying animals and reduce the pollution in the air that we breathe for the sake of the children and the children of their children. We must protect and value the things that were made to sustain life even if they cannot be used by humans as resources.

Marcos Batas Militar

How can reason be translated into action?

An individual’s speech makes sense based on logic and facts and can be turned into action when the individual starts to act upon his visions logically and comfortably

If there were no intellect, there would be no will. Explain.

You cannot accomplish anything without intelligence or without any practical plan, thus there is no will if you do not know how to make ends meet.

What is a social contract and how is it reflected in the EDSA Revolution?

An agreement from the members of society. The law is reflected in the people by making an agreement.

Was freedom denied during the Martial Law? Was there free choice within the Filipino people?

People could not go outside their houses and speak about the government or they will get killed. There was no freedom for the people who denied the Martial Law and there was no free choice.

How do you think this is similar and/or different from the colonization of the Philippines from the hands of the Spanish, American, and Japanese?

The Spanish people colonized the Philippines under military and religious supremacy while the Philippines is an instrument for WWII for the Japanese. America desires for opportunities that will benefit their own country and to have power over the islands from other countries, it is somehow similar to the Marcos martial law where the authority or people with access to firearms disregards the safety and needs of the people for their own benefit.

How do you think this is similar and/or different from today’s events in the Philippines?

The events regarding for covid-19 are similar but different as people are required to stay home for their own health but similar to martial law as the media sensualize the virus to which it makes people afraid and scared, but according to a doctor in Europe, covid-19 is just like any other flu.

My mother likes listening to classic music and because of my mother, I know about Andrea Bocelli. His music is comforting and his voice is beautiful. Andrea Bocelli is a knows as a great music artist that inspires many people around the globe. When he was still in his mother’s womb, the doctor advised his parents to abort him because him might have a disability, his mother, however opposed the advice the doctor gave and gave birth to him and when he was born he did have many issues with his sight and was diagnosed with congenital glauoma. As a young boy, Bocelli had a passion for music even with his disability, it did not stop him from playing the piano and other instruments and to be a great singer and won countless awards. He is a good model for young kids with disabilities to never stop hoping and dream big.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆　　｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ

25-year life plan.

Firsly, I want to develop my skills in arts and be able to try out and learn digital drawing since it looks super cool and fun to do and be able to do animations because I wanted to do that as a kid. When it comes to career, I want to get a good job in software technology and be able to create applications and games that would help many people in their daily lives and also have fun. But before I achieve all that, education is important.My plan is to get to graduate college, I want to expand my knowledge in computer programming.

I want to be able to contribute to my family, and support them with their needs, and show them love as much as possible so I guess having a decent stable job would allow me to be helpful to the family. My financial plan would be saving as much to start a business and also giving to charity. In life, you can’t always just be working and working, sometimes looking after yourself is more important as well, being healthy and to excercise more and eat healthy food in order to achieve your goals. Working hard and looking after yourself can take you to places and for pleasure, I would like to do my bucket list like to be able to travel and see places, to be part of an organization helping citizens and the environment, giving to charity and to meet new people and learn from them. I think this is most people’s common life plan, its a dream and a plan, but don’t call it a dream, call it a plan, make it a goal and thrive big.

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beneaththetangles · 4 years

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BtT Light Novel Club, Chapter 20 (Part 1): Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 1

Oh boy are you all in for a treat this time around. Our discussion on Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 1 was so huge, I decided that, for the first time in Light Novel Club history, we will have a two-part discussion! The second part will go up tomorrow, but for now, I hope you enjoy this first part of our discussion. After all, if we had so much to talk about that we needed to split it between two posts, you can bet that this was a really good novel.

And if you’re just joining us and wondering what this book is about, here is the official volume synopsis from J-Novel Club:

Surrounded by the hate-filled gazes of her people, the selfish princess of the fallen Tearmoon Empire, Mia, takes one last look at the bleeding sun before the guillotine blade falls…

Only to wake back up as a twelve-year-old! With time rewound and a second chance at life dropped into her lap, she sets out to right the countless wrongs that plague the ailing Empire. Corrupt governance? Check. Border troubles? Check. Natural calamities and economic strife? Check.

My, seems like a lot of work.

Hard work and Mia don’t mix, so she seeks out the aid of others, starting with her loyal maid, Anne, and the brilliant minister, Ludwig. Together, they strive day and night to restore the Empire. Little by little, their tireless efforts begin to change the course of history, pushing the whole of the continent toward a new future.

And why did the selfish princess have a change of heart, you ask? Simple—she didn’t. She’s just terrified of the guillotine. They hurt like hell, and Mia hates pain more than work.

Lazy, selfish, and a complete coward, the ill-equipped princess of the Tearmoon Empire, armed with memories of her past life and a diary from the future, tries to avoid dying at the guillotine again and changes the very course of history in the process!

Joining our discussion this time are Jeskai Angel and Gaharet. Let’s begin!

1. What are your overall impressions of the novel?

Jeskai Angel: I already went on record making an awesome ’80s pun and saying that reading this volume was a life-changing experience. That’s something I can say of very few books, let alone light novels. And as I reread the volume for this discussion, my high esteem for this book felt validated. It’s extremely funny, makes excellent use of its historical inspiration, has a whole posse of heartwarming characters, and raises deeper issues to ponder.

Gaheret: The story grew from the beginning, where the schematic nature of the Empire in comparison to France and the blindness of the narrator -which Jeskai had point out in his article- were harder to swallow, and things felt too convenient. After all, it is not as if by behaving good, or trying to, the outcomes will always be good. But around the time she visited the church, I started to identify a lot with Mia. Like her, I´ve always trying to live in a world by deduction, taking examples and lessons from books and teachings and trying to apply then to deduce the outcomes or at least knowing what the right path was. As I didn´t always understand what I was reading, this led sometimes to absurd results, sometimes to a comedy of errors, and sometimes to good results whose goodness I perceive only in time, including exaggerated or erroneous views of people about me. In that sense, Mia was quite like me.

By the time she encountered Abel, I started to feel truly moved. The role of an inspiring woman in the life of a young man cannot be underestimated, and it helped me in the same way Mia helped Abel. I felt very identified with his good-for-nothing opinion of himself, and I was glad to see him trying his best. He may be my favorite character in the book.

The battle against his brother with Mia watching was the best point for me.

Concerning the central comedy of errors of the book, the one concerning Mia´s self-interest in contrast with both what the characters think of her and what the narrator thinks of her, I think that ultimately, maturity and virtue for us sinners are an effort to humbly “grow into the mission”, even grow into the character.

The Empire felt more convincing in time. I came to like the prejudice against agriculture, the causes of the plague, the diplomacy, the Ministeries and the various issues concerning the future economic crisis. As for now, I´m really interested. I wonder how it will all turn out.

The Academy felt too Japanese high school at first (at least don´t call them clubs or student council! And hot baths! And lunchboxes called such are just unforgivable!), but both the dance and the fencing tournament felt very convincing, with complex power dynamics. By the end, I wanted more of all the characters: the merchants, the petty nobles, the Duchess of the realm Jeskai aptly describes as a sort of Papal States, and the servants too. And more so, I want to see how Prince Abel ends up.

Jeskai Angel: Japanese high school equivalents in fantasy worlds are so ubiquitous that I just kind of take them for granted now. But I agree that some aspects of the setup felt out of place.

“things felt too convenient. After all, it is not as if by behaving good, or trying to, the outcomes will always be good.”

Ooh, ooh, yes! This introduces something I was hoping we’d talk about! (Don’t worry, I’ll get back to question 2 eventually.) At one point in the story, the narrator says of Mia that “After thoroughly experiencing the kind of suffering she’d inflicted on others, she came to understand an essential truth: you reap what you sow.” Later, the narrator expands on this:

“After three years of dungeon life, Mia had come to understand an essential truth, or rather, she thought she had. What she didn’t know was that she only understood half of it. You reap what you sow. Those words do indeed ring true, but the scythe cares not for the nature of the grain. Should you sow the seeds of malice, then malice shall be your harvest. But should you sow the seeds of kindness…Just as how bullying will be repaid in kind, so will acts of benevolence.”

Now, that’s great, but what does it mean? The metaphor of sowing and reaping is all over the Bible. There’s the vivid image of judgment in Hosea 8.7: “For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” In 2 Corinthians 9.6 there’s a pretty general statement of this principle: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” And perhaps most important of all, Galatians 6:7-8 says: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

The biblical concept of sowing and reaping is strongly oriented toward the resurrection and judgment. God doesn’t guarantee us good things in this life. The scriptures show there’s limited correlation between doing good/evil and experiencing good/bad things, but it’s far from ironclad. If anything, the Bible points the other way, saying we should NOT expect this life to work out so conveniently. The scriptures abound with good people who face undeserved suffering – Jesus above all others! Likewise, the Bible depicts many wicked people seemingly getting away with their sins in this life. God promises us that he’ll sort it all out someday. Until then, we must endure in hope.

But this sowing-and-reaping talk can also bring to mind the concept of karma, which from what I understand originates in Asian religions but today seems more like a global pop culture concept. (That is, most people have heard of karma, but don’t necessarily understand every nuance of, say, the Buddhist definition of the term.) Leaving aside the more technical meanings used by world religions, in popular use, it seems to me that karma evokes an expectation of prompt, earthly correlation between doing good/bad and experiencing good/bad. While not exactly biblical, this is a view we find in the Bible: its leading purveyors are Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, the so-called “friends” of Job. They carry on about how the fact that Job suffers is proof that he is evil, and that as soon as he stops being evil, everything will be good again. Job is a…complex book, but one point that is absolutely unambiguous is that Job’s friends were wrong. The suffering Job endured was not some cosmic payback for some wicked deed, and the good things Job enjoyed before and after suffering were not contingent solely on Job living righteously.

The novel is somewhat ambiguous, but in the context of a Japanese novel, it seems likely that the author’s conception of sowing and reaping reflects the idea of karma, rather than focusing on God settling everything in eternity. But the fact that different worldviews can use very similar language is exactly what makes it so interesting to consider what’s going on in this story.

stardf29: First of all: this novel is absolutely hilarious. The way all of Mia’s actions get reinterpreted as her being some genius saint is great, and while normally misunderstandings in stories can be annoying because of how they slow down plot progression, here it’s used to move forward the story (and in very funny ways) so I really enjoy that. The snarky narrator adds to all of the amusement, of course.

Beyond that, this story has a fascinating cast of characters, some solid worldbuilding, and a whole lot of charm to it. I’ll definitely be getting into the specifics that I liked as the discussion goes forward.

Regarding “sowing and reaping”: So, out of curiosity, I actually went ahead and asked the translator of the novel on the JNC forums for what the original Japanese was, to see if it was just a localization with a familiar English phrase or some kind of common Japanese saying that might have actually originated from the Bible (in Japanese). (It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen this; the phrase “the scales fell from my eyes” is a common Japanese phrase and does indeed reflect the corresponding event of Paul’s conversion in Acts.)

In this case, it looks like the original Japanese is just a sentence saying “the seeds you planted have to be harvested by you as well”, rather than a common saying. That said, I did look up Galatians 6 in Japanese and it seems the verse in question also has a similar sentence (from my very limited Japanese knowledge), so maybe it has managed to find its way into more common Japanese knowledge somehow, or maybe the author looked up the verse or something. Hard to say for sure without having access to the raw texts, but it’s definitely something interesting.

2. What do you think of the characters?

Ludwig

Jeskai Angel: Ludwig is a great nod to historical civil servants like Turgot and Calonne who served the French monarchy in the days before the French Revolution. As a character, he’s admirable because he’s so incredibly faithful. In the original timeline, despite having little reason to care for Mia or the royal family, he strenuously attempted to stave off disaster. And even after revolutionaries took over, he kept trying to save Mia. She lost everything, was abandoned by almost everyone, but he continued to care up the way up through the day of her execution. None of this brought him any benefit, yet he persisted.

One of the major issues in Mia’s life is her inadequate upbringing: she seems to receive no parental love or guidance, is terribly spoiled by those around her, and has no real friends. It’s no wonder she turned out dysfunctional. But Ludwig is one of the rare exceptions. When he greets her by rebuking her for how much it costs to feed her, as well as on other occasions, it makes Ludwig one of the few people in Mia’s life who tries to teach her any sort of discipline. His mentor-like role highlights the void left by her uninvolved parent(s). It’s a mark of how Ludwig cares that he actually makes the effort to teach her. As an aside, the tomato-chef is another (albeit much more minor) example of this: he’s one of the few adults who cares about Mia enough to provide even a sliver of discipline in her life.

At one point in the original timeline, Ludwig tells Mia, “You’d better take a good, hard look at yourself and reflect on your mistakes, Your Highness.” Whether or not she had those words in mind, that’s exactly what she does in her reset life, and lot of it is thanks to Ludwig. Mia didn’t fully appreciate Ludwig’s lectures in her previous life — but she did LISTEN to them, and retained that knowledge! The narrator makes of point of insisting that Mia is as ignorant ever, that she’s merely parroting things OG Ludwig said. Bah, humbug! Have you ever graded student essays? I have. Even just repeating back the things a professor or textbook said is impossible for a student who never actually understood the material. A clueless dolt who didn’t grasp a complicated lecture about economics and taxation wouldn’t be able to regurgitate it in any kind of intelligible fashion – especially not years later. Ludwig is brilliant and, despite his cantankerous appearance, impressively patient as he teaches Mia, while Mia is a quite a bit sharper than the narrator gives her credit for. Yes, she got everything she knows from OG Ludwig, but all the best students owe a great debt to their teachers. She deserves credit for understanding and remembering Ludwig’s teaching well enough to apply in her reset life.

stardf29: Ludwig is an interesting case because, in the original timeline, it seems like he had every reason to dislike Mia, and yet made every effort to try to save her regardless. Maybe he saw Mia as an unfortunate spoiled brat who simply never got the proper upbringing to know any better, or maybe he figured that, as selfish as Mia might have been, executing her would only make things worse for the country. Whatever the case, his willingness to see a different side to things and remain loyal to Mia gets repaid in the current timeline with Mia saving him from being banished to the boonies and getting an advance on his future knowledge courtesy of Mia.

And yes, Mia gets credit for actually remembering all of that knowledge that past-Ludwig gave her. And she even gives him just the tiniest bit of credit in her diary entries towards the end of the volume. (She sounds almost tsundere-like with her whole “it was really just the tiniest little bit, okay?”)

Gaheret: Well, I thought that was because of Imperial ethos of loyalty and pietas. Even the sovereign you don´t especially like, you try to love and support with your best efforts.

Smug Mia is more adorable than she has any right to be.

Anne

Jeskai Angel: Okey-day, first, I want to point out that “Mia” shares all its letter with “Marie,” while “Anne” shares all its letters with “Antoinette.” I commend the author’s cleverness.

Anne is great. Her faithfulness to Mia is incredible, and her loving service becomes a major element in Mia’s own transformation (which interestingly comes back around as Mia influences Anne in the second timeline). When Mia recognizes Anne and seizes the opportunity to reward OG Anne’s service, it’s a hugely effective way to show that Mia has changed. “Why do you still devote yourself to me?” Mia asked the day she died.

OG Anne was remarkably Christ-like as she served Mia despite deriving no benefit from doing so. Feet aren’t mentioned specifically, but when the story notes Anne even washes Mia in prison, I couldn’t help but think of the foot-washing at the Last Supper. In answer to Mia’s query, Anne says “I just couldn’t leave you alone.” The brief but vivid portrait of Anne’s love for Mia is at the heart of how the story sells us on the idea that Mia has changed. Some of Mia’s last words before her first death are to beg Anne for forgiveness for how she treated the maid, how she regrets being unable to act on the gratitude she now feels. It’s wonderfully satisfying when Mia gets the chance to say, “Now… I can finally repay you for your loyalty.” Notably, Mia is thoughtful enough to not only promote Anne, but also ensure she doesn’t face harassment from coworkers. In the bath scene later, Mia scrub Anne’s back, reflecting how the “foot-washing” lesson OG Anne taught her has taken root.

Later, there’s a neat echo of the conversation in the prison flashback. “Um, have I done something for Your Highness before?” Anne wonders. “No, and you need not. I know you to be deeply loyal, and I am repaying you for your devotion. That is all.” OG Anne has changed Mia for the better, and it’s beautiful.

Gaheret: Anne and Ludwig, the faithful servants who stayed when everything crumbled, are admirable just by that fact, and Mia is right to recognize their loyalty and put her trust in them. Yet, it seems to me that this has had the unintended side effect of depriving them of knowing Mia´s character -which is not so bad as the narrator makes it to be-, and thus, of a relationship like they had last time. I find it kind of sad: Mia still needs Ludwig´s clear judgement and Anne´s kindness to correct her blind spots. But now, like an Ami Kawashima of sorts, she can only do it by remembering what they said and did in the past, because they do not know her blind spots anymore. And as a result, Mia is terrified and alone, and she cannot but come to feel like a fraud. I always had people to open up to. She doesn´t, not one. Worse, when she knows that they are loyal enough to love her and commit to her despite her flaws.

stardf29: I don’t have much to add here that hasn’t already been said, but yes, I absolutely love how loving Anne was in the previous timeline to a Mia that was otherwise almost universally hated. And that was at least a major influence on Mia in the current timeline being kinder herself… which leads her to making that timeline’s Anne her retainer and friend… which in turn has her supporting Mia faithfully in this timeline, even behind the scenes. There’s a very beautiful (and amusing) poetry to this circle of kindness here.

Abel

Gaharet: Concerning Prince Abel, I enjoyed a lot seeing him grow from prodigal second son to a man wishing to be an able rival to Prince Sion, and his transformation from that point on felt believable. I think it adds points to the story that she primarily approached him at first due to strategic reasons: literary conventions aside, that was how it was done. A virtuous noblewoman would try to choose well between the options which were strategically good (if she could even do that much) and then try to love and inspire the man, as Mia did. I like how there is evil in his character and his barely avoided destiny remain with him in a way, and also that he has no idea of how to behave in front of Mia. I think he will be a good, loyal support for her in times of need.

Jeskai Angel: While Mia has a positive effect on many characters, arguably the one who changes the most due to her influence is Abel. The story introduces us to current Abel in a way that really helped make his multiple possible futures believable. One can totally see how current Abel could have given up on life and settled for being a shallow playboy. But in the new timeline, his efforts to grow, inspired by Mia, are also believable. I feel like he’s actually an extremely fitting match for Mia. Prince Mary Poppins, I mean, Sion, is and always has been practically perfect in every way. But both Mia and Abel are people with serious flaws who met sad ends in Mia’s first life. And now, in Mia’s second lease on life, Mia and Abel are getting second chances to do better – together. It’s super sweet and poetic and I’m so rooting for them to get a happy ending together!

Involving Abel but pertaining more to Mia, the entire fact that Mia pursues a relationship with Abel is a huge sign of Mia’s newfound humility. In her first list, she thought herself entitled to the most prestigious boy in her class. It signifies how much he’s changed that in her second life she cultivates a relationship a mere second prince from a minor kingdom. Even with pragmatic, guillotine avoidance motivations, Mia had to set aside her pride, change her priorities, to even consider Abel.

stardf29: First of all, the name Abel is strangely fitting in various ways: note that his brother is named “Gain”, which is very close to “Cain”. Almost makes me wonder if the name choice was intentional (along with the sowing/reaping reference, maybe the author knows their Bible quite a bit).

Anyway, yeah, Abel definitely changes a lot when Mia shows interest in him and encourages him to not give up on bettering himself. Putting her motivations aside (and here they’re not even all that “selfish”; she’s actually considering what’s best for her country as well as whatever country’s prince she decides to marry), she sees Abel not for his current shortcomings, but as a person with the potential to grow and change. That’s a very gracious, God-like approach here, and its impact on Abel’s life is huge. Seeing how he takes inspiration from her in the swordsmanship tournament is great.

And on Mia’s part, she’s definitely not completely immune to Abel, either, as we can see from the part where she notices how hard he has trained for the tournament and tells him she wants him to win. This is actually quite a sweet romance, all things considered.

That said, there is an interesting bit of irony here. Mia originally chose Abel because he was a second prince and not very likely to become king… but now, one can argue that Abel is more suited to becoming king than his brother. Could Mia’s plan backfire on her in this way? That might be an interesting obstacle for her to work around…

Jeskai Angel: Since “ka” and “ga” use the same character in hiragana / katakana, isn’t the spelling of Gain / Kain / Cain not merely close but practically the same?

This gets me thinking. If Gain’s hatred of and jealously toward Abel take him down the path of his namesake, he could easily turn into a major antagonist for Mia in her second life. In the new timeline, Gain is arguably the most overtly wicked named character. The bullies go unnamed. Sion is…flawed…but while OG Sion was horrible, Sion of the new timeline hasn’t really done anything wrong yet. Assuming that Mia is going to face some kind of major antagonist, it seems like it’ll be either Sion (based on what we know of him from Mia’s first life) or Gain (based on his name and the fact that he’s the nastiest character Mia has met in this timeline).

Ooh. Now I kind of want / don’t want a scenario where Gain as antagonist captures & tortures Mia (or, rather, tries). I don’t want Mia to suffer, but there could be an awesome scene where Gain tries to torture her, an unphased Mia thinks to herself “This is nothing compared to the torture I faced in my first life,” & then Gain has a complete meltdown when he can’t get a response from her, let alone break her.

stardf29: Heh, that would be pretty amusing. Though if the story does go down that path, I hope that Gain ultimately reforms after all of that, maybe after he misinterprets Mia’s indifference as showing some kind of unconditional love to him or something.

Other Characters (besides Mia)

Jeskai Angel: Regarding Sion, “Sunkland” is a pretty amusing play on “England.” I appreciate his thoughts about how leaders “must always take pride in their integrity and hold themselves to a standard such that they might be examples to their subjects.” It’s painfully relevant as we suffer through a presidential election in America this year. I also like Sion’s pithy observation, “When witnessing the oppression of the powerless, anger was the correct response.” I’ve wrestled a lot over the years with the appropriate place for anger in a Christian’s life, and I think Sion is right on target.

Tiona isn’t in focus as much as some of the other characters, so while she’s a solid character who has an important role in the story, she didn’t really leave a strong impression on me. I look forward to her and Mia getting closer when Mia goes for the visit we’re promised.

I did find it amusing how, because OG Sion and OG Tiona literally presided over her execution in the previous timeline, Mia just assumes Sion and Tiona already hate her guts and are eager to kill her, before she’s even met them in this life. It’s a curious blindspot: she thinks she can change her fate, but doesn’t consider that she might change Sion and Tiona’s opinion of her along the way. However, the fact that Mia has no serious desire to take revenge on Sion and Tiona also reflects Mia’s capacity to forgive (or hints that she’s developing such an ability).

Keithwood mostly serves as a foil to the other characters. He’s our source of insight into Sion, and the one sane person who keeps the lunchbox fiasco from going completely off the rails. Keithwood is also one of the more perceptive observers of Mia. He comes surprisingly close to the truth when he ponders whether Mia is a saint, schemer, or seductress. Other characters tend to lean heavily toward the saintly view, while the narrator insists Mia’s is a schemer. So although Mia is hardly a seductress in any meaningful sense, Keithwood is right to consider that there might be ways to understand Mia besides just the extremes of “saint” or “schemer.” Mia, like all of us, is a strange mixture of good and ill, and Keithwood comes closer than anyone else to grasping that reality.

Gaheret: Prince Sion, on the other hand, is the kind of character I despise. Virtuous, yes, but harsh with others. The kind of man who (original timeline) approaches an imperial princess in disgrace during the crisis of her Empire just to say “I despise you”. The kind of person who consents a young woman to be bullied by the mob and in suffering for three years, even being force-fed those tomatoes just because they discover that she hates them to the point of vomiting, then executes her just because she is the symbol of the old régime. The sort of pretty boy who turns down a vain girl in a painful way, because she is vain and deserves a lesson. And worse, he does all that with peace of mind, because she is bad and stupid, and he is not. Let´s just say that I found the way Mia gave him the cold shoulder wise and prudent: it is best to keep him at distance. The narrator says that Prince Abel and Prince Sion will meet each other in battle. So be it.

I liked Tiona, on the other hand. She was a victim, called a “saint” by the Revolution, and she had endured a lot. I´m glad Mia had to establish a friendship with her, even if she was reluctant at first. As Jeskai says, we still not know the most important things about her. In whose side of the Revolution will she be, now that Mia is not involved in her bullying, but is a friend and a defender? She clearly still likes Sion in this version of the story, but this time he seems not to notice her, what happened in the original timeline? Though they came visit Mia together.

Concerning the minor characters, I would have liked more emphasis on Chloe and her merchant background, and we do not hear much about the character of Tiona´s maiden. Balthezar, Ludwig´s friend, and the noblewoman from the agriculture background look like promising characters. And lastly, duchess Rafina, a future ruler and priestess, the moral inspiration of the Academy, who is said to be the spiritual inspiration and a force silently backing the revolution, strikes me as a terrifying figure, almost in the same way as Sion. The novel depicts her as kind and just, but I see her always judging from above, and subtly making moves through her influence. I could totally understand Mia´s anxiety when she has to explain to her how she has dealt with the offending nobles. There is a “Church” which is mentioned when dealing with the plague: if Rafina is its head (as the Papal states analogy would suggest), this would be something entirely different from the French Revolution.

Oh, I almost forgot Keithwood. And yet, he is the one closer to the truth: as the “wise servants” that abound in literature, in a somewhat Shakespearian position in which he can see above the tale, he is not blinded by his position and can observe. He is deeply committed to Prince Sion, who we know will battle against the Empire, and almost unbelievably wise for his years (I say “almost” because I have known some young people who are indeed wise). Yet, he is clever and just, and even if he doesn´t see through Mia, he knows something to be off. If someone realizes what is happening, it will surely be him. And his moral character seems solid, without the threatening aura of Rafina and Sion.

Jeskai Angel: Okey-day, I agree with Gaheret. Great points. While I do like the quotes I mentioned earlier, Gaheret‘s commentary helped me realize that I’ve been just kind of lumping Sion and Tiona together as the two ringleaders of Mia’s death, when really I should have been looking more closely at them as separate characters. Sion really is a self-righteous Pharisee with no real reasons to like him ever presented. On the other hand, Tiona is a hardworking, long-suffering victim, and while that doesn’t necessarily justify executing Mia, it certainly makes Tiona more sympathetic. She has valid grievances, even if we may disapprove of how she deals with them. Also, it seems relevant that we never actually see OG Tiona acting cruelly toward Mia the way OG Sion did.

Mia’s efforts to befriend Rafina in the previous timeline are truly pitiful. She never had real friends, was never taught how friendship works, and thus tried her hardest and got nothing but scorn. That’s not all Mia’s fault: it’s the result of a sad upbringing. You can tell Mia is scarred by her past failures to make a friend; in the new timeline, she just dreads Rafina, knowing her as someone impossible to please. As someone who spent many years of childhood and adulthood painfully struggling (and often failing) to make friends, Mia’s plight is super sad and super relatable.

On the topic of Sion / Rafina in particular, one aspect of the story I appreciated was the unfair judgments Mia faced in her first life. OG Rafina held Mia responsible for the harassment of Tiona, even though Mia had nothing to do with it. OG Sion went out of his way to be mean to Mia, despite the fact that even if she was annoying, she never really did anything to harm him. It’s actually a nice reflection of the IRL French Revolution. Now, the revolution was a complex phenomenon with multiple causes, but one factor was corruption among the ruling class, some which was real, but some of which was just perceived. For example, Louis XV was a notorious womanizer whose behavior tarnished the image of the French monarchy. His grandson Louis XVI was, as far as I can tell, a faithful family man, but the perception of corruption weakened the monarchy. Similarly, Marie is arguably most famous for responding, when the people had no bread, “Let them eat cake.” Except that she totally never said that. However, the French royals came to have this frivolous image that provides a context where Marie’s fictitious callous words sound plausible.

stardf29: There’s definitely something curious about how Tiona ended up becoming one of the starters of the revolution in the original timeline. If you ask me, Tiona seems a bit too nice to have started a revolution just because she was bullied by Mia. Something else probably happened (beyond her kidnapping, which only really served to endear her to OG Sion) that drove her over the edge. It’s definitely something curious that I hope we learn more about.

Now, Sion… yeah, something about him rubs me the wrong way. He does seem like a Pharisee who prioritizes “justice” (or what he thinks that is) over grace, and on top of that he just has that smugness to him that makes me hope he gets taken down a peg. So far, that hasn’t quite happened yet, but there are some cracks starting to show, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Mia interacts with him later on.

Keithwood is a character that seems to be somewhat common in these medieval settings: the knight that is a close friend of a prince such that he is able to speak more frankly to him, without as much regard to position. He’s a good foil to Sion, and just a good guy overall, especially with helping the girls out with making the sandwiches.

As for Rafina: Score one for Tearmoon Empire for actually having a sympathetic religious authority figure of sorts. Though it does feel like, had that meeting with Mia not happen, she would have very well turned out to be the sort of judgmental, graceless religious figure that we normally associate with fantasy religious figures, as the past timeline shows. However, Mia’s examples of grace (however unintentional) shows her a different way of doing things, and she becomes a friend rather than an enemy. I definitely hope to see more of her in the future.

Mia

Gaheret: As I said, I felt very identified with Mia. I’m familiar with jerk thoughts which go unnoticed, the transformation was fun and her role as a sainctly queen oddly reminded me of people like Blanche of Castille, Marguerite of France or Katherine of Aragon and her daughter Mary Tudor. She may be aided by special, comic Providence, but I count that as a plus. I like that her transformation is mostly outward, and the inner changes are slow: that is realistic. All women confronting powerful foes, searching for allies, trying to do good and trying to operate in a world of nobility, interests and threats of different sorts, like Mia. I´m invested in her relationship with Prince Abel: whatever the narrator thinks, there are signs that she is inspired by him, as he is by her.

Jeskai Angel: Mia is amazing. She reminds me a little of Bakarina, though she’s quite a bit more practical and realistic in her efforts to avoid impending doom. I empathize with Mia on a personal level in multiple ways, but she’s a great protagonist for many reasons. Thanks to the colliding perspectives of the narrator, various other characters, and Mia’s actual words and deeds, Mia comes across as a delightfully complex human being. She’s not the dolt that the narrator claims, and also not the genius other characters think she is. She’s not as petty and selfish as the narrator says, but she’s also not the purely virtuous saint some of the other characters mistake her for. And so on. Nobody – not Anne, not Abel, not the narrator – has a complete grasp of Mia’s character. Just as IRL humans, past and present, are quite complex.

Mia’s story is full of wonderful moments that could only happen because Mia really did live through the revolution of the original timeline. A great example is the story at the end of the volume where she eats the stale cookies, joyfully reminisces about the time she ate them in prison, then hears they are years old and immediately jumps to thinking about how her country could benefit from this food preservation expertise. Mia didn’t have a bad dream, nor a vision of the future. She lived this other life before dying on the guillotine and being reborn at twelve years old. For a twenty-year-old woman, she isn’t especially mature, but that’s fair, given her background. She grew up spoiled, friendless, lacking parental love and guidance, and spent the last three years of her life in a dungeon. None of that can be blamed on her.

But that’s not even the really good part. Before dying at twenty, Mia learned virtues like gratitude and compassion. These lessons came too late to save her in the first timeline, but she retained those qualities when she traveled back in time. It wasn’t inevitable that Mia learned such lessons: she could have used her suffering to become obstinate, bitter, angry, repaying hatred with hatred. She could have fallen into despair. But she allowed the suffering to refine her, help her grow. The fact that Mia is capable of realizing she was a terrible person in the past indicates a strong level of introspection.

Mia is at the center of a whole web of reverberating positive influences. Mia herself changed thanks to Anne’s kindness and Ludwig’s lectures…and also thanks to the hatred and derision of Sion, Rafina, and the revolutionary mob. There’s a sense in which everything different in the new timeline ultimately originates with Mia’s own different choices, caused by the lessons she learned in her first life. She makes a positive difference in the lives of Anne, Ludwig, the people of the slum, Elise, Tiona, Abel, Chloe, etc. Sometimes this even comes back around, as when Mia’s influence on Anne raises the maid’s expectations of her mistress, helping give Mia the extra push she needs to step up and help Tiona. Iron sharpens iron, indeed. Watching the ripples of Mia’s influence brings to mind the Vulcan proverb “One man can summon the future” (Star Trek: Enterprise, season 4, “United”). Mia’s story is an inspiring display of how one person can make a difference for good. I am totally cheeing for her in whatever future adventures she faces.

Another cool side to Mia’s character is how her “really 20 yrs old” nature is portrayed. The narrator rightly notes that the circumstances her first life “somewhat crippled her mental maturity in certain aspects,” but she also gets some great moments where her age experience from her first life shines through. My favorite is when Abel’s brother tries to act threatening and Mia’s reaction is basically “LOL, Senator Little Boy, you’re no Jack Kennedy revolutionary mob.” Her disdain is so complete that even as we repeatedly see her make extra effort to get to know people and remember their names, she doesn’t bother with the name of Abel’s brother.

stardf29: Honestly, I don’t know what to say here that hasn’t been said by others, so I’ll just say that, on top of all of that, she’s just really fun overall. She has a strange but effective sense of practicality (might as well sell this expensive hairpin so it can’t be stolen by brutish revolutionaries), while also being prone to moments of silliness (the horse-shaped sandwich). Even her more selfish and petty moments are more cute than malicious, like a kid trying to get what she wants while being aware that certain actions can hurt her later on. So yeah, she’s a really great character, well-developed while also being straight-up entertaining in and of herself.

Horses love Mia, too. Or at least they like to sneeze on her.

3. What are your thoughts about the narrator?

Jeskai Angel: I already wrote an entire essay about the narrator of this story, so I don’t know what to add, but just be aware that the narrator has such a distinctive voice as to qualify him as a major character in his own right, despite having no direct involvement in the events he narrates.

I’ve ragged on the narrator quite a lot (including an entire separate post!), and I do think he’s often at least partially wrong about Mia and the other characters within the story. But he has some good points.

Although the narrator stands outside the main story, he joins Ludwig one of the only voices who legitimately critiques Mia. Mr. Narrator often goes too far in his attacks on Mia and the others, but there are also nuggets of truth in what he says. I also appreciate the author’s choice to make the narrator so over the top in his view of Mia. A more deadpan narration would have given the impression that readers ought to believe everything he says. But this narrator is ridiculous enough to imply that readers shouldn’t blindly accept everything he says. My favorite example is a comment he makes after “explaining” the ”real” reason Mia said what she did while standing up for Tiona. He tears apart Mia’s “true” motivations, paints her negatively…and then admits, “Now, all of this might seem supremely counterintuitive.”

As already noted, this book is incredibly funny, and lot of that hinges on the narrator. Also, this book had some of the funniest chapter titles I’ve ever seen, and I like to imagine the narrator came up with them all.

The narrator also gets to make some profound points, with no snark, no Rube Goldberg-esque convoluted explanations, just sharp observations. After Mia awakens following her death, she tries to convince herself it was just a childish nightmare. But as Mr. Narrator incisively notes, “…she didn’t realize one, very simple, fact: real children don’t think of their nightmares as childish.” In the big picture, this is one of many moments that help confirm Mia really lived & died in the other timeline, that she didn’t just have a weird dream or vision. But it shows that the narrator has some genuine insight into Mia and human nature more generally. I also loved a moment before the tournament as Mia and Abel talk: “After some meticulous calculating, she looked to Abel… ‘I await your victory, Prince Abel.’ …And let slip her true thoughts.” This statement helps us understand Mia’s true feelings; she might sometimes try to be a schemer, but she’s not actually devious and dishonest enough to pull it off. But this the narrator’s commentary; we have him to thank for this insight. So, yes, the narrator goes to nonsensical lengths to criticize Mia and almost everyone else, and should be called out, but I’ve concluded that his snark sometimes overshadows his perceptiveness.

Oh, another thing I liked about the narrator is his occasional flash-forward moments, where he says “This was the moment that changed so-and-so’s life,” or “Thirty years from now this turned out to be super important,” or whatever. Leaving aside the fact that he knows about multiple timelines, they are fun interjections that contribute to the feeling that one is reading history (and yes, I mean that in a good way, LOL).

Gaheret: The derisive narrator was certainly fun, if sometimes excessive. It was almost like revisionism. In a way, it felt as if a more mature but excessively self-conscious Mia (who else would have known all that?) had found the biography of Anne´s sister excessive, and had wanted to tone things down, sometimes exaggerating in the other direction. I´m not a fan of the detailed flash-forwards: Firstly, because they already have the alternate timeline to convey that kind of information, secondly, because that sort of thing should be done vaguely, and it not always is. I liked one: “a destined battle among men”, as Uraraka would say. But, for example, the hagiography I just mentioned means that the Empire, at least the general public, never learns the true character of her Empress. As this is one of the main points she is working towards, I would prefer not to know if she achieves it beforehand. And I would have liked more intrigue and uncertainty concerning the transformation of Prince Abel. It would have made all the rivalry more uncertain, and we wouldn´t know for sure that he and not Sion is the love interest. That said, the author cares about his characters, and it shows, and I have come to like the worldbuilding, and also the different aspects in which the crisis of the Empire develops, and I liked the novel a lot.

Jeskai Angel: Ah, but therein lies the whole question. What IS Mia’s true character? The story gives us conflicting perspectives: the narrator’s claims, the opinions of other characters, and even the reader’s own interpretation of Mia’s actual words and actions. To say that Elise’s biography doesn’t capture Mia’s “true character” is to assume a certain interpretation of Mia that may or may not be correct. Though, in fairness, a biography written by a monarch’s paid retainer is naturally suspect.

This has prompted me to realize that thinking as a historian has led me to privilege to the opinions of the other characters (Anne, Ludwig, Elise, Tiona, Abel, Keithwood, etc.) above the narrator. When I research history, I give the most weight to contemporary primary sources, that is, accounts written close to the time of the topic by people with firsthand knowledge of the topic. As I read Tearmoon Empire, I am interpreting the perspectives of the other characters as primary sources. What Ludwig or Keithwood or whoever thinks of Mia at a particular moment is an eyewitness account direct from the time of the events. So though I don’t think the views of Mia held by Anne, Abel, et al. are to be uncritically accepted, they deserve great weight. Elise’s biography is also a primary source, but is much more suspect, being written years later and coming from a person with a vested interest (though it still could have much truth to it).

If Elise’s biography is hagiographic, the narrator seems more polemical in tone. And both tones are reasons to take care and read with a critical eye. The narrator comes across as an entirely distinct voice separate from the main story and characters. He speaks as an outside observer from some later point in time. While clearly not a normal scholar (he knows about the different timelines!), I’m inclined to see the narrator as the equivalent of a historian of some later generation. Thus I regard the narrator’s voice as a secondary source. He’s not an eyewitness, and he’s (probably?) not a contemporary of Mia and company.

Whatever the case, this leads to an issue of plausibility. The narrator’s views may be well founded on thorough research, but as a historian, I’m going to give more weight to the contemporary impressions of eyewitnesses than to a later writer’s claims. This is especially the case when the two interpretations diverge greatly. What is more likely? That numerous people with firsthand knowledge of Mia all constantly misinterpreted everything she said and did? Or that a scholar in a later generation is pushing an unduly harsh view of a past monarch? As more and more characters form positive opinions of Mia, I grow more doubtful that they are all just deluded like the narrator claims. It seems to me far more plausible that the narrator is being too harsh than that all Mia’s contemporaries so greatly misunderstood her.

On this topic, one point I find fascinating is that narrator doesn’t accuse Mia of deception. In all the situations where other people interpret what Mia said or did as benevolent, clever, or otherwise positive, the narrator NEVER suggests Mia was deliberately leading anyone on or cultivating a false image. Instead, the narrator just insists, over and over, that despite appearances, Mia really intended something different and all the other characters are just weak in the head. Again, I ask: is that plausible? More plausible than trusting the eyewitnesses’ immediate firsthand thoughts?

tl;dr My background as a historian influenced how I read this book, and incline me to trust the other characters more than when the narrator speaks distinctively in his own voice (though I believe both should be read critically). As a result, my view of Mia tends to be closer to (though not as extreme as) the perspectives of the other characters.

stardf29: I definitely like this sort of questioning about who exactly the narrator is. Personally, I like the idea that the narrator is Mia, several years older and looking back on this period in life and feeling super-embarrassed that her actions of self-preservation got blown out of proportion. However, she can’t ruin her image as the Great Sage for reasons, so she just wrote a more private account to relieve her own embarrassment or something. It’s interesting to think of because, first-person stories aside, we rarely think of who exactly is narrating a story, so for the narrator to have their own clear voice and personality, it invites this sort of speculation.

Jeskai Angel: Mmm… Interesting alternative theory of Older Mia as the narrator.

Yeah, narrators are usually either first-person with a distinct identity as a character within the story, or omniscient impersonal third-person with no distinct identity. It’s much less common to find stories featuring a third-person narrator that has its own voice and personality.

I know all we have at the moment is the first volume of the series, but with what we know from reading it, do you think the series will eventually identify the narrator more fully? Do you want it do so? Or would you prefer that he/she remain ambiguous? On related note, do you think the series will, and do you want the series to, ever address how/why Mia traveled back in time? Or is that better left a mystery in your opinion?

I think the narrator definitely has potential for further development, whether or not we actually definitively learn his/her identity. Like, learning the narrator’s identity might be cool (depends a lot on who it is / how it’s revealed). But we could also see the narrator’s views of Mia and/or other characters change over the course of future volumes, which could be quite interesting.

Gaheret: The diary is interesting, and now I´m thinking that it may be the source of the narrator. That or Mia herself. As you have said in your article, this narration feels a bit like self-derision sometimes. As for Mia´s true character, I think it´s half what she was, half what she is becoming, but it does not lessen her to be sometimes self-conscious, or bratty, or just fearful, or saved by luck. She has a more strong, impulsive personality that she shows. It´s only natural, and the good things she does are good even so. Even by the narrator´s account, she is working hard, trying to repare her debts with loyalty and gratitude and sincerely falling in love.

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And that’s the first part of our discussion! As you can see, we already had a lot of discussion already, and we still have more to talk about, so join us tomorrow for Part 2 as we go even further into this light novel!

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(Links to buy Tearmoon Empire, Vol. 1: Amazon / Other links )

#Light Novels #Christianity #Tearmoon Empire #Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari #Articles #Author: stardf29 #Author: Gaharet #Author: JeskaiAngel

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radical-revolution · 5 years

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In Zen literature the word intimacy is often used as a synonym for enlightenment. In the classical Zen enlightenment stories, a monk or a nun is reduced simultaneously to tears and laughter as he or she suddenly recognizes that nothing in this world is separate, that each and every thing, including one's own self, is nothing but the whole, and that the whole is nothing but the self. What are such stories telling us if not that love is much wider and deeper than an emotion? Love is the fruition of, the true shape of, one's self and all that is.

—Norman Fischer

Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up

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errantabbot · 5 years

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Sunyananda's General Guidance on the Stages of Awakening

Generally speaking Buddhists, non-dualists, and mystics of all sorts spout off quite a bit about “awakening,” and uphold it as an amorphous, yet identifiable destination on the trajectory of spiritual practice. Very rarely is awakening clearly identified, let alone its path. This lack of clarity has contributed to the origination, and proliferation of an infinite variety of practices and disciplines that subsist only through their vague pointing toward a reality that is “somewhere over there,” called awakening.

In my own practice, I have engaged innumerable disciplines in a number of mystical faith traditions, and have in the course of these experience been disillusioned by the number of these practices that clearly do not point toward any of the obscure tenants of awakening as it is frequently alluded to. I have therefore sought to discern what is awakening really? Is there a concrete term that we might use to bring clarity to this experience, or attainment? And along these lines, I have sought to identify perennial stages that various traditions point one toward, which progressively reveal the spiritual summit known as awakening. What I have discerned is that there are approximately six stages of awareness and experience that when fully engaged, build upon and grow from one another into what we might term awakening, which I suppose could be appropriately termed the “Realization of Transcendent Wisdom.”

In general we may say that the six stages begin with the Dawning of Metacognition, which births the Experience of Interdependence, which stewards the Arising of All-Enveloping Compassion, which propels the Persistence of Equanimity, which allows for the Curation of Cause and Effect, which yields the Expression of Non-Attachment, which summarily presents as the Realization of Transcendent Wisdom (Awakening itself).

The Dawning of Metacognition is assuredly the first stage on the path. It is really the primary objective of meditation, namely to distantiate from our sense of self, that is the small “I” that typically leads us around. This separate perspective to the thinking mind is born of the realization that the possessor (seemingly the “I”) cannot simultaneously be the possessed (the thoughts, opinions, ideas, brain, body, and even soul that the “I” all casts as “my”). While at first a great sense of unknowing and confusion can and often does arise at this realization, when this unknowing is gently held in meditation, gradually a clear sense of witness arises that observes the machinations of the mind formerly known as “I.” This sense of witness does not identify the mind or its functions then as a substantial self, and does not take on such a mantle itself, rather this sense of witness is a process that does not come to be conceptually amalgamated. Should such an amalgamation occur, it precludes the actual dawning of this first stage of awakening that is termed metacognition. The mind is particularly good at creating illusions to prevent the self from being distantiated. A great amount of practice is generally needed for an authentic experience of the metacognitive witness, and even more effort must be put into sustaining then, this unamalgamated process.

As a practitioner becomes firmly settled in this newly dawned metacognition, a natural progression stemming from continued intentional awareness, that is, the metacognitive awareness’ ongoing witness to both (seemingly) internal and external conditions and phenomena is the Experience of Interdependence. This stage is particularly difficult to identify under the banner of a single term, as it is indeed quite expansive. To experience, or perceive interdependence is to become aware of the insubstantiality of not just the self, but of all things. Reality is insubstantial in as much as it is unfixed, constantly moving, coming both together and apart in a constant flux. In fact reality is so unfixed, and so in motion that nothing really moves, comes, or goes at all. This seeming dichotomous conundrum is only resolved when it is left to be as it, witnessed rather than defined. To witness such a reality is to experience interdependence, and thus sunyata (absolute reality itself), which may also be termed the ground of being. In many spiritual schools (especially neo-advaita etc), this stage is considered to be awakening itself, however this is not so. The direct experience of interdependence is but a step, albeit a particularly large and life-altering step, but a step none the less on the path toward awakening.

It should be noted that Christian mystics have given us a particularly important turn of phrase that describes a common experience that is frequently encountered somewhere in the midst of these first two stages, and that is “The Dark Night of the Soul.” While not an absolute certainty, many people experience a great sense of grief around finding the self, and reality itself to be insubstantial. All of the rules that a person has built up in their minds about the world and the way it works in the course of a lifetime tend to be simultaneously broken in this process, and when not prepared for such a thing, the profound unknowing that is so essential to awakening can be experienced as profound loneliness, darkness, and loss. Luckily though, as the Lankavatara Sutra states “things are not as they seem, and nor are they otherwise.” While reality is undoubtedly shaken in the process of awakening, reality indeed is unmoving, and no student of the way has ever in fact been separate from reality as it is- most have just done an awful lot of daydreaming on top of it, it is in fact these dreams that are being illumined and shed, thus we are awakened.

Somewhere along the way of identification with the small “I” falling away, and the insubstantiality of reality being revealed in its interdependence, comes the Arising of an All-Enveloping Compassion. This is indeed the antidote to any “dark night of the soul” experience, which arises still in the absence of such an experience. All-Enveloping Compassion shares a root with small-minded narcissism, therefore as identification with the small “I” falls away, so too does any appendant and latent self-admiration, as it becomes recast as limitless compassion for all beings, and experiences. In the experience of interdependence we find that not only are we insubstantial, but so is everyone and everything else, and in our shared non-being our capacity to love anyone is transformed into an impetus to love everyone and everything. A true arising of this All-Enveloping Compassion comes too with an inability to hate- this doesn’t mean an inability to grow angry, or to become frustrated, but specifically an inability to hate. This inability may be understood in examining a quote from the Roman playwright Terence who once famously wrote "I am human, and I think nothing human is alien to me." From a true place of witness to reality as it is, of which we and all are a part, no-thing, no matter how saintly or heinous is foreign to us, and where there is suffering we can only then know sadness, empathy, and compassion, not hatred. Compassion does not equate to condoning, but perhaps may be said to stem from understanding. This empathetic understanding, which can be called compassion is the very seed of the Transcendent Wisdom that the present schema terms awakening.

The natural bedfellow of All-Enveloping Compassion is the Persistence of Equanimity. Witnessing and being with reality as it is (radical acceptance), and being foreign to no experience we find that just as reality is ever oscillating and thus still (perfect in its “as it is-ness”), so too are we as seeming microcosms of reality, or more accurately reality’s self-awareness. As reality is ever in a state of equanimity, that is, of no hesitation or hindrance, it is natural then that as the metacognitive witness rouses “us” from our daydreams that we too come to embody such stability in our individualistic expressions and experiences of life.

It should be said here, that the ongoing practice of awakening at any level is that of integration between the seemingly absolute, and seemingly relative aspects of reality, experience, and life. The metacognitive witness comes to uphold each of these stages perfectly, however, the small “I” largely is just a collection of sensory reports yielding to cause and effect. In other words, the small or relative self is largely governed by habitual energy and observed behavior (which is why, for instance precepts centering around consumption, mental and physical exist). Not being identified with the small “I,” one option is to simply let it run amuck, unchecked and unhindered, however, this is an incomplete awakening. When the small “I” truly integrates the All-Enveloping Compassion of the previously examined stage, it naturally works to alleviate even relative suffering, that seemingly near and seemingly far (personal and other), and thus is metered by the process of the metacognitive witness.

The following chart sorts each of the stages of awakening into a primary orientation, with the final stage of the Realization of Transcendent Wisdom holding a unique, integrated (terminal) position. The initial stages of awakening are experience oriented and pertain to the realm commonly identified as absolute reality. The last stages before awakening are expression oriented and pertain to the realm commonly identified as relative reality. The stages between the two seeming polarities are transitional, and are easily categorized as one or the other, absolute and relative, experiential and expressional. In reality, each of these stages is unfixed, and insubstantial, as are their seeming orientations (as their merging, or integration into Transcendent Wisdom would suggest). That said, this categorization may be helpful in navigating and understanding the general feeling and energy of the stages of the awakening process.

This brings us to the Curating of Cause and Effect. While former stages seem to largely be interior or absolute oriented and experiential, this stage is assuredly also expressional. The curation of cause and effect is where the metacognitive witness most clearly meets the unidentified, or distantiated small “I” and appears to become directive. However, the metacognitive witness process, being impersonal cannot actually direct anything but the awareness pertaining to it is, itself, a cause with an effect. The cause, in this case, is small “I” transcendent awareness effecting the small “I’s” seemingly relative process, through being informed (aware) of subsequent stages (2-4, especially). A natural yield of metacognitive awareness and witness is profound insight into what we may call “karmic ripples,” which when met with All-Enveloping Compassion, for instance, inspires the habit of karmic control, or curation for which the capacity to do so has ever been present, if covered up or even ignored.

The final stage in the process of awakening, which must occur before integration and awakening itself may be rendered is that of the Expression of Non-Attachment. The Third Patriarch of Zen, Sengcan once wrote “The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences.” Absolutely, this is no problem- the metacognitive witness has no preferences, nor is it capable of any. However, the relative, small “I” functions only by them. When these two fully meet and mingle, it is not that preferences fall away, but that attachment to them does. Non-Attachment (to views, experiences, people, places, and things etc.) arises in summation of all of the foregoing stages, in that it is the only possibility when one comes to be able to perceive and uphold multiple views of reality simultaneously. The futility then, and harm of strong opinions and ideas is illumined through awareness of the multiplicity of reality, and deference to the cogs of reality, as opposed to those of ideas, is birthed.

As Lao Tzu is thought to have said: “…The Master leads by emptying people's minds and filling their cores, by weakening their ambition and toughening their resolve. He helps people lose everything they know, everything they desire, and creates confusion in those who think that they know. Practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place.”

~Sunyananda Baba

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not-kxthln · 5 years

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Binondo's Chinese New Year: A First Binondo Experience

In my younger years of 11 and 14, February has always been a concept of love, relationships, courtships, dating, and things a like. However, growing up and being more conscious to my surroundings, February also became a festivity of dragon dances, lucky charms, horoscopes, and a lot of color reds as the celebration of Chinese New Year becomes evident to me. This year, as part of a class output, I immersed myself in my first celebration of Chinese New Year, and there is no perfect place to celebrate this festivity other than at the oldest China town in the world, Binondo, Manila.

Celebration of Chinese New Year in Binondo is hell, long waiting queue, loud rhythmical banging from here and there, and a vast sea of people even at the corners of Binondo. Recognizing those scenarios from the previous and other occasions, the perfect time to witness the celebration is the day before the exact Chinese New Year (February 4), so we did. On the day of the trip, we were welcomed by a heavy traffic upon entering Binondo, literally as we enter the arc of Chinatown. It is said that one way to witness the beauty of a place is through walking without knowing the right way to the destination and again, so we did. We walked without certainty if the path we’re talking is leading towards the heart of Chinatown which is the Ongpin Street and truly, the beauty lies in the eyes of those who wanted to see beauty.

Binondo at Daylight

(click here for more photos)

The journey towards the destination should not always be rushed to be able to appreciate the beauty of what is in front rather than what is yet to come. From a perspective of the latter, the town is crowded by people, infrastructures, stores, and electrical wires, the sunlight only passes through the cracks of high rising buildings surrounding the streets of Binondo, Manila making it dark and gray, and the unsynchronized cries from vendors of all races; Filipino or Chinese. However, looking beyond what is evident a beauty from within is revealed. People of different culture and purpose as to why they are there expressed the same goal for that day, to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The crowd is usually large at daylight and it is harder to immerse on what is happening, however, the crowd is unusually smaller than expected, there is a place for us to stay and the cold breeze of Amihan could still be felt. Smartphones and cameras are all set for the tourist to capture that picture perfect and Instagramable moment, it may be a video of the traditional dragon dance, selfies, or a photo of an unusual scene. I took a chance of taking photos using my phone camera even if there is a great possibility that it will be snatched from me; taking risk is what makes an adventure fun and exciting. I stopped at the time and places where the beauty of Binondo is revealed to me, at the center of a crossroad, at the corner of the street, while walking, and even while crossing the road. But despite all these, one still has its own negative polar.

Background of the Celebration

Traditionally, Chinese New Year is a Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of the year on their traditional Chinese calendar. According to a Chinese myth, this festivity started as a form of defeating Nian, a mythical beast who was said to be eating villagers, through setting off fireworks and putting up red papers to scare off the beast, and because it works according to its purpose, the Chinese continued the practice making it a tradition. Today, Nian is believed to be the dragon dancing during today’s Chinese New Year and in Binondo,dragon dances can be seen in different forms, giant dragons controlled by people holding poles, people wearing dragon costumes, and even street children who have improvised their costumes using pieces of cloth and a box. It has become a form of performance in exchange for a money nowadays which defy the true essence of the celebration. Which also remind me if the celebration still carries the true essence of the celebration even in other places? Should its essence be taught in the public during the celebration or is the public and the Chinese community are able to accept that the true essence of the celebration can no longer be recognized?

Philippines vs China

Since the advent of the Philippine’s right towards the Scarborough Shoal, there has been a dispute between the Philippines and China as they also claim their right at the shoal. With this, a feud between Filipinos and Chinese became evident especially in the internet and the gaming community as the terms “chingchong” and “peenoise” became a racism terms for the Chinese and Filipinos. The feud developed into something more than the internet and gaming when the Chinese coastguards deprived the rights of Filipino fishermen to fish at the shoal which locals call Panatag Shoal, Bajo De Masinloc, or Huangyan Islets despite its inclusion to the Philippine’s exclusive economic zone.

In the internet, the Filipinos rage towards how the Chinese treat them has become a clash between nations however, it is also evident that during our trip to Binondo, Filipinos are the number one “tourist” at the celebration. Does this feud of nations be forgotten when a celebration occurs? I mean if Filipinos are patriarchal enough then why would such celebration is being patronized by Filipinos? The Lucky Chinatown Mall exhibits a huge sculpture of Budai or the Laughing Buddha where people could light an incense and practice a worship to Budai, bowing to Budai with an incense between a praying hand. But what struck me is that all of the people practicing this are mostly Filipinos who are most likely non-Buddhist. So, why worship a religion that you don’t practice, also given that the people teaching these are Chinese that are having a feud with.

Again, why would a Filipino patronize such celebration if there is hatred towards the people who owns the celebration? To be in? For Instagramable pictures?

Binondo as Producers

(click here for more photos)

The Chinese are also known for their belief in luck as a form of a lot of things, charms, home decors, arrangement of things, food, and etc, and since their stay in the Philippines a practice of trading, Filipinos were also influenced in these beliefs. Binondo, as a Chinatown, is known for different Chinese charm stores and it is a normal scene for a Chinese to sell these products, bracelets that acquires different purpose according to its color or design, home decors which have special instruction as where it should be placed, and foods that are said to obtain luck when eaten during the celebration. Moreover, Filipinos are also involved in the practice of selling these products with also the same purpose but with a cheaper price.

Concept of Charms

Wanting to be more involved in the celebration, I decided to buy charms, specially a bracelet, that would serve a certain purpose to my life, it may be for studying, good health, protection, family, and well-being, stores with these charms are all over Binondo, same products but different prices. Upon entering store after store, I noticed that they were selling real stone gems of different colors and arrangement as a bracelet depending on the luck that it is said to bring. These stores are Chinese owned, and their products ranges from 700 pesos to 2000 pesos, according to the store’s I went to so, I decided to see if those charms from Filipino vendors also serve the same products and prices. It can easily be noticed that Filipino vendors can be seen immediately because they do not have a certain store, instead, they are in kariton, the prices are evidently different because they sell the same bracelets for 50 pesos, however, the quality are also far different because it is obvious that they use cheap materials and a cheap bead work. Analyzing these differences, I came to a conclusion that maybe this celebration is also a venue for business men and “business men” to gain lots of money because they know that most Filipinos will engage in this event. Moreover, upon asking Filipino vendors about the purpose of a certain bracelet, they could not answer directly, or they would just say “hindi ko po alam” (I don’t know).

Binondo at Night

(click here for more photos)

Roaming around the streets of Binondo, trying out different food, observing people, and just witnessing the whole celebration, I’ve observed that the darker it gets the crowd grows bigger and more foreigners can be seen with the crowd, this may be because of the count down that will be happening at midnight or because Binondo is more beautiful at night. I’ve personally experienced Binondo at daylight and I would say that there is beauty beyond what is explicit to they eye but Binondo at night elicit a different kind of beauty despite of a huge crowd of people, store signs from left and right, lanterns hanging along the streets, and street lights. The nice photos I got also added to my productive day and spending the day with my friends in Binondo too. It was calming but mostly exhausting to witness Binondo from daylight to night but realizing and learning a lot of things from this trip is what really made it worth it. Happy Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai!

#chinesenewyear #binondo #blog #happychinesenewyear #article

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dailydharmadosage2017 · 6 years

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What If We Aren’t Aware That We Are Going Round In Circles?

At the beginning of learning Buddhism, before engaging in any Buddhist practice, we should target to have a complete understanding of the entire content of the Dharma teaching. How did the lineage of gurus originated from the Buddha? What encompasses the stages of the path to enlightenment? What is the right objective and aspirations to have as a Buddhist?

With a comprehensive understanding of the Dharma, we then focus on the correct objective of practicing Buddhism, recognize which is the right path and advance from there, which gives us our starting point to delve into the teachings for in-depth study. This is a very important fundamental approach for us to progress from our starting point in practicing Buddhism, we that we can advance steadily and moreover, this will be the easiest, quickest, and most comprehensive path.

Does It Matter Where Do We Start? At this point, to take the appropriate path and delve into the teachings for in-depth study, it is of high importance to make sure that we are able to find the proper starting point, isn’t it? What if unfortunately, we could not find the starting point because we do not even know where the starting point is. What happens when we advance without clearly knowing where is the starting point?

We would just be passing time. We would feel like we are studying and practicing Buddhism, and we would feel that we are learning Buddhism, but what would really be happening? We would just be going around in circles.

What Do You Mean Going Around In Circles? It means that we think we have gone a long way but we ended up back in the same place. It’s comparable to making our way through a maze of trees in a jungle or climb over a mountain in order to reach home, and we think that since we have been walking for a long time, we are almost there but then suddenly we discovered – “Hey, I’m seeing this tree again!” and after walking even further, we are back at that tree again. This is what is meant by going around in circles. And if you still don’t get the idea, this means that we would be lost.

The Danger of Going Around In Circles. If we knew that we are going around in circles and ending up nowhere, of course we will find a way to break through. But what if we aren’t even aware that we are going nowhere? Worse still, what if we believe that we are almost reaching our destination because we think that we have already ventured very far after climbing mountains and ridges, one after another?

Therefore if we do not even know that we are going around in circles, we must be lost; we would not truly understand our own level of practice, we would not be able to grasp the reflection of the teachings that are needed and we would not even truly understand what the right view is.

What Would We Be Learning Then? So instead of learning Buddhism, what would we be learning then? As aforementioned, we would feel like we are studying and practicing Buddhism, we would feel that we are learning Buddhism, but, as a matter of fact, we are learning, not from the Buddha or the great lineage masters, but from this “Me,” and gradually, this “Me” would grow bigger and bigger. As our minds are often filled with all sorts of afflictions that easily dominate us - although we may be sitting in a Dharma assembly, but our mind would only be resonating with our afflictions and not the teachings. Then even after learning the Dharma, our minds would still not been transformed and we would still view others through our own perception that sees others’ faults but never ours. In addition, the ego of the self would inflate as we learn more, and that inflated sense of pride would get out of control. Such a state of mind absolutely would not correspond with the teachings at all.

With a mind that does not align with the teachings, are we not going round in circles and back to square one again?

Sharing of reflections is based upon personal contemplation from the learning of the dharma teachings at BW Monastery.

If dharma teachings interest you, catch more snippets at BW Monastery - https://bwmonastery.org.sg/discourses/

#buddhism dharma lamrim bwmonastery

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writeforwronggg-blog · 6 years

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Tsuyoi Josei(5560 words)

When I was younger, my mother always told me to honor myself and others equally. She would tell me of her childhood before the adoption of Chinese political systems and the insertion of the Samurai way of life. As a young child, I never truly grasped why she would tell me these things.

Why would my mother tell me of the superiority complex of nearly all men of our time? How she was supremely mistreated by men older and younger than herself, just as every Japanese woman was? Though that’s not a major problem as of now. Not as of 638: the year I became a Samurai.

The Tang dynasty and the introduction of not only an empress of China, Wu Zetian but also Buddhism and it’s empowerment of women on the rise, us women were at a high point. Though there were still major tensions between the Confucian and Buddhist beliefs, Buddhism was a major game changer for the empowerment and belief in female abilities in modern Japan, China, and Korea. We were no longer viewed as the lowest class, but as equals to everyone else(in justified cases of course).

Still, I was not a believer of any religion. I had always believed in people and their own personal morals, versus the morals, thrust upon them to follow by religions for selfish reasons. Yes, selfishness, because although nearly all religions preach the ideals of selflessness, it’s for purely selfish reasons. Every religion, for which I have seen, give promises after promises of reward for being a kind and serving person. It’s fuel for us to be good, but why do we need to be motivated to be decent people? We are all human dealing with the same struggle of life and its challenges, no?

People love to twist the words of good men and women from religions to fit their own agenda, and it’s very warranted because one can not say it’s out of context since most teachings are open to interpretation. How can you say something means one thing, yet when another points out its hypocrisy or ‘plot holes’ you change your words? That truly is religion in its purest form. It’s meant to give people reassurance through symbolism but all it does is turn a heart to the dark side through the idea of a prosperous afterlife or reward.

That is the focal point for me as of now. Being a female Samurai in a country that was so against the idea of women existing as anything more than a wife and mother was strong only a few short years before. 625, the earning of the Tang dynasty’s Tian Ming, was a major milestone for this small town called Chiba, near the rapidly growing city of Tokyo.

I bet you’re wondering about me, who I am, what story I’m here to tell- and the answer is soon to come. First I should start from the beginning, no?

My name is Otokita Karanaki, daughter of Haruto and Kaito Karanaki. My father, Haruto, was a well known and supremely respected elder in our town, but a few years ago when our town had been raided, and my father killed, the people mourned greatly. As my father had no male heir to his fortune, and the teachings of Cong Fuzi’s “the Master said: When the father is alive, observe the son’s intent. When the father dies, observe the son’s conduct. One who does not alter his late father’s way for three years may be called filial.” But those teachings neglected to speak on behalf of the daughters, leaving me to become the ‘son’. No, I don’t mean becoming a man, simply taking over his responsibilities.

I had no person lined up for me to marry, and my mother was becoming more and more ill every day. The flu had caught up to her, and the physician was frequently gone to other, more wealthy, families. I had two young sisters, only one and two years younger than I, and I was meant to raise them. As most of our society was very judgemental of our lifestyle, I had chosen to raise them as I wished and not into a religion. I used most of my money to try to educate them in European ways and fighting techniques my father had taught me. I was already a low ranking Samurai, so finding time to see them between my duties was difficult and I eventually decided it best to send them off to a school in India.

It’s been years since I sent them off, and not one week have we missed a letter. Though I worry about them greatly, my life here is not on hold. I have a friend, and she’s amazing. Being put in the situation I was, it could be difficult to find someone who would be there for you unconditionally, but she… well, she was there. For everything and anything.

Her name is Ishi and the only way I would ever describe her is strong. She is always supportive, kind, reassuring, and dependant. Oh, how strong she is. As a child, her parents gave her away to a caretaker who would raise her in an abusive home in which hated any girl or woman. She fought her way out of that place and journeyed across the regions looking for somewhere to live. She endured much across the way, many hardships such as rape and other unspeakable woes, and finally made it here where I had found her and taken her in.

I found her along a path, clothes were torn, body worn, and face filled with resilience. She had gone through so much, yet she was still one of the best most understanding and accepting people I’d ever known. She had so many stories she’d kept to herself for so long, some good and most bad, and she was so scared for so long to trust me with them. It had taken a long time and a lot of patience before she could open up to me and when she did I was astonished and even more proud of this girl, woman, I had come to know. Her heart, mind, and soul were beautiful, as was her body.

Her hair, when let down from her usually messy bun, goes down like a smooth black waterfall all the way to her wide-set hips. Her eyes were solotica and utterly beautiful. Her naturally milky-turned-tan skin is as soft as my mother's silk, and her voice was deeply captivating. Anyone and everyone wanted to wed her, but I was looking after her and no one had dared to ask for her hand in marriage if they were not absolutely sure she’d agree and love them. I was not so easy to persuade, especially not with her, and it seemed she wasn’t either.

“Oto? What are you thinking of?”

I looked down, into the eyes of my mother’s eldest friend’s son’s eyes as he examined my stone cold features. Kawa is his name, and he’s been at my side since this morning when I left my home to patrol my small town. He was about 1.8 meters tall and surprisingly handsome, though he is surely the epitome of male arrogance.

I looked at him, thinking of all the times he’s tried to take my hand, and rolled my eyes at him. He looked surprised as if this wasn’t expected of me.

“None of your concern, Kawa. What is it you are following me for, anyhow? Has your mother finally tired of you?” I ask jokingly, earning a small chuckle in return.

“Tire? Of me? Never. I am too entertaining and hard working to bore of. If only you’d see it, Oto,” he insisted, nudging me slightly.

I eyed him suspiciously and took a step away, uncomfortable of our close proximity. I looked out over the small hill we stood on, wondering what Ishi was doing at the moment.

“Do you suppose Mrs.Itō will make that kimono well? I promised to pay very much for it, but Ishi isn’t comfortable with the tailoring process and I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable so I hadn’t given Mrs.Itō the measurements. Will it fit right? I told her it’s similar to me, maybe 40-50 centimeters wider at the hips, about 28 shorter at the legs. Was that okay do you think?” I ranted, slightly happy about tonight’s event.

Tonight, being our last elder’s 82nd birthday celebration would be very extravagant. Every person from the town would be there and there was nothing more exciting to me than a break from my duties. Though I would still carry a few small weapons with me, I would not be actively on duty.

He looked at me strangely, as if he was very confused and suspicious. I rolled my eyes, not expecting a response and turned around to begin heading back down the beautiful hill. He followed short behind but stopped a few minutes later. I did as well, hand on my Katana in case there was danger lurking.

“Why do you care so much for her? She’s just some random wench from off the street. Why would you even-” his sentence was cut short by my katana being held to his throat.

I stood there, mere inches from his handsome face, teeth gritting in anger, and fists clenched around the strong tile handle, hardly aware of his appearance. I could see his surprise, as I rarely lose control of my patience, and tried to calm my rising temper.

“I would do my best to not insult my dearest friend. She is far stronger and smarter than you may believe. She is not a wench and you will show respect when talking of her or face the consequences of us both.” I seethed, receiving a huff of disagreement and damaged pride.

“Of course,” he agreed hotly, after a few more seconds of violent tension, releasing him and stepping back, “You’re quite a strong-willed woman. The people who doubt your strength have much to come for them.”

I tried not to, really, but I could never stay angry with Kawa. He’s my oldest friend! How could I?

I shoved him lightly, letting out a breathy and quiet laugh. He did the same until it turned into a full-on shoving contest, resulting in him being held down to the ground, arms pinned behind him. He tried to resist, multiple times, but I would only make my grip tighter.

“I surrender! I surrender!” he choked out tiredly. I released him, standing up and adjusting my gauntlets.

“You best remember this, Kawa, the next time you think you will win.” I teased.

I was about to look up, but I was quickly shoved into a tree, arms pinned awkwardly behind me, and Kawa holding my head against the trunk. I was breathing hard, as was he, from the quick action and he leaned in slowly to my covered ear.

“I think I will remember this,” he simpered, “will you?”

It was odd, the way he said it. I’m not used to this, it’s usually foolish flirting and pointless innuendos, but this wasn’t. This was ‘I’m bigger and better than you’ and it wasn’t doing anything but fueling my feminist anger. I leaned into the tree, surprising him and throwing him off balance, and pushed back again making him stumble back. I turned, pushing his back against the tree and used my foot to kick between his legs, making him release his hands so I could turn and elbow his mouth. He turned around, cradling his bleeding lip as he whimpered lowly.

“Don’t ever do that.” I raged, clenching and unclenching my fists tightly.

He looked at me, eyes confused and nodded his head slowly. I relaxed my face and turned back around to continue my walk down the hill. He followed, not as closely anymore, and I would occasionally stop to listen for any loud, troubling noises.

“I’m sorry,” he said once we reached the town again.

I huffed, not impressed, before taking a left down a small alley. He followed again, I walked faster, as did he. Once we reached the end of the small passing I turned abruptly, stopping him in his tracks. I tapped my foot, waiting there silently for him to continue his earlier apology.

“I’m sorry for taking you off guard. We do this all the time though, Oto, why were you so upset?” he asked irritatingly.

I huffed, balling my hands up before taking a calming step backward.

“It’s not that, Kawa,” I admitted solemnly, “it’s the fact that your tone sounded as if you believed you were any better than I. I care about you, but I would never see you again if you truly believed that.”

He was confused. You could tell because his chocolate brown eyes read that all over them. He looked down and back up at me, taking a step forward, and trapping me against the rough wall.

“If you think I believe that at all, then you truly haven’t been paying attention to me. I am infatuated with you. You’re strong and caring and you take in poor, worn strays off the street. You’re determined and stubborn and focused. You’re loving and wise and attentive. You’re a beautiful and independent woman and I love you for that. Damn it. I love you Otokita!” he confessed, surprising me very much.

And then he kissed me. He kissed me so fiercely, so kindly, yet so softly, I could do nothing but believe him. I could tell he felt a spark, fireworks even, but I did not. I couldn’t feel anything from that kiss other than sadness and pity. I kissed back, simply in reaction, and felt horrid.

I could never love him, not truly, not like he did me. I could only think of one thing as this was happening, and it terrified me beyond words. He pulled away, out of breath and sweaty, and smiled genuinely. I simply stood there, shocked and sad, and watched the happiness in his strong features fade. He examined my eyes carefully before stepping back, removing the arm that he had wrapped around my covered waist, and looked away.

“Do you… do you not feel the same?” he asked shyly, shoulders held firmly as a shield from my soon to come words.

“I-I-I...I cannot. I am so sorry, Kawa! I-” I didn’t finish that sentence as he turned away and walked determinedly.

I stood there solemnly, confused and angry and scared, as I filtered through my thoughts. I brushed over them all before straightening up and returning to my job.

==================

After the rest of my duties that day, I decided to go to Mrs.Itō’s shop to see if she finished the kimono I commissioned. I was outside of her small bright shop, merely looking at the cute calligraphy her 12-year-old son had made for her. One of the small window signs read ‘Kamotos- 3 yen’. I smiled lightly, remembering my sisters when they were his age. They had been obsessed with the new lessons on writing and calligraphy. It was the highlight of their week and they would practice whenever they had the chance.

“Oto? Oh, okosama, why are you not coming in? Come, come!” she gushed, broom in hand, and a bean-sack filled with needles in hand.

I smiled lightly, glad that Mrs.Itō has never judged me. She was always so kind to me and my family and was never a displeasure to be around. She radiated grace and honor, along with love and welcome. She was what I’d always imagined my grandmother had been like. It’s how my mother spoke of her, and I had no choice but to believe that.

“Mrs.Itō, what a pleasure,” I crooned, “I’m only here for a moment, the celebration is tonight and Ishi and I are in need of our kimonos. Are they ready? I have the 6 yen right here”

I reached into my small sack wedged between my armor and pulled out the cloth-covered coins. She smiled, nodding and taking me to the next room that was covered head-to-toe in cloth and fabric. I saw so many bright colors that worked so well together, something she had quite the eye for.

“Right here, okosama.” she said, smiling and holding out two burlap covered dresses, “Would you like to see yours?”

“Of course,” I agreed, watching as she lifted the cover.

I was in awe. Simple, unadulterated awe.

“It’s…”

“-Beautiful?” she chimed lightly.

I nodded, thoroughly surprised by the dress in front of me. The dress was covered in embroidered pink flowers that shrunk in size the farther up they got. The fabric was a black and pastel pink gradient, black being at the bottom. The obi was on top of the dress, a thick and wide black ribbon with pink floral lace bordering it. It reached past my feet, opening to show my ankles and the detailed black-bordered-pink silk on the inside.

It was far more than I had paid for and I was so grateful for the hard work I knew she had put into making this dress. I could only bow, arm resting on my back and the other holding the sliding weapons on my belt.

“Words cannot describe the great honor I feel for your hard work on this masterpiece.” I compliment sincerely, head still bowed.

She chuckled, setting the dresses down carefully and resting a hand on my shoulder. She sighed, bringing her soft hand to grab my chin lightly and lift me up.

“It’s only what you deserve, okosama. Do not underestimate what we, as the people of Chiba, appreciate of you. Tonight is not only to honor our elder, but also the work of our strongest warriors. I know at times you are judged, but the Elder thinks very highly of you and asked for me to do my best work on you two.” she explained, bringing a few tears to my eyes. I quickly wiped it before smiling and standing up straight.

“Thank you, but I must go. I should see you tonight then, yes?” I asked, reaching for the dresses.

“Of course,” she replied, giving me a farewell and leading me to the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ishi? I’m home and I have our kimonos!” I announced, closing the wooden door behind me as I headed into her respective room.

She was behind her partition wall, probably changing. I heard a squeal before I saw a half-naked Ishi running towards me and tackling me. I laughed along with her, glad the bed was behind me and pushed the stout girl off of me.

“I see you’re excited,” I tease, getting a giggle in return, “Would you like to put on your dress?”

“Of course! I am so excited for tonight’s event! It’s been ages since we’ve had a real time away from the tensions lately. Please tell me you’re coming tonight!?” she begged, turning on the bed on her knees to sit on my lap.

I chuckled, stroking her soft black hair and looking at her beautifully cheerful face. I nodded, she squealed, I laughed, she hugged, I hugged. We sat there for a good while, holding each other comfortably while she played with my messy helmet hair.

“Did you hear about what this party is for, Oto?” she asked genuinely, continuing to play with my frizzing hair.

“I did, from Mrs.Itō no less. It’s very reassuring. Do you know why I became a Samurai, Ishi?” I asked.

She sat back up, arms sitting on her lap and shook her head, truly interested.

“When my father died, and the town was so scared, I left my house. I went up to the hill I always did and sat there, wondering, crying, and mourning. While I was doing that, I hadn’t noticed the lanterns floating. It was the tradition- every and anytime a person passed, the people who cared about them must light Chinese lanterns. It was a new tradition at the time, just learned by our people from an immigrant, and the town’s people loved its symbolism. Well, while I was looking at those brightly lit white lanterns, I noticed the atmosphere hadn’t truly changed. I could still feel the pain those people were feeling, the fear. I knew we had never had the best protection in Chiba, but this had shown me how important it was. All that fear, that pain, could have been avoided had we had a Samurai devoted to protecting this small but beautiful town. I never wanted those people to have to face that fear again, not if I could help it. So hearing how these people truly care and appreciate and respect my position and duties truly brings me to tears.”

I meant every word, every spilled syllable, every emotion that leaked through. It was true, and I wanted to share that with Ishi because I had come to a realization that I would always want her in my life. I never wanted her to be married, I never wanted her to be taken from me. It hurt to think that she could consider another person over me. Why? Why did that scare me? Why did I care?

“Oto?” she asked shyly, eyes glossed over, “You’re amazing, you know that?”

I smiled, tossing those thoughts away and she smiled back, rubbing her eyes to make the tears go away.

“As are you. Let’s get ready, shall we?” I asked, cheerfully standing up and turning to get her dress from the pile.

I handed it to her, watching as she removed the burlap to see the almost exact same dress as mine. Hers was a pale yellow and light blue, with blue being at the bottom. Her eyes grew wide in awe, a wide smile growing on her beautiful face.

“This is...Spectacular!” she gushed, turning the kimono around to see the back.

She rushed behind her partition to get changed as I went to mine to change as well. The dress fit me perfectly, the only thing I needed to do was tie my ribbon and do my makeup

“Ishi? Can you tie my ribbon?” I asked, knocking gently on her door.

It soon opened, revealing a gorgeously dressed girl. Her hair was pinned in a beautiful braided bun with pieces of hair systematically placed on her face. It had the chopsticks I had bought her for her birthday last year in the back, placed accordingly to hold her hair.

“You look amazing.” we both said together, resulting in us both laughing hysterically.

“Ribbon?” she asked, handing me her own yellow-laced-blue ribbon. I smiled before raising an eyebrow and handing her mine.

“Of course, turn,” I said, wrapping the ribbon around her slim midsection, grazing just below her breasts and tying in the back a beautiful bow.

“My turn,” I say, turning so she could do the same.

“There, now we’re both properly dressed. Makeup?” she suggested.

I smiled, nodding, and turned to head to my room where I kept our supplies. We did a simple Kabuki look with blue eyes for herself, and pink for me. I turned to her, finished with my look, to see her applying her mascara. Her face was stretched in the funniest way, causing me to giggle quietly to myself to not mess up her application.

“All done. I already took care of your mother. She’s eaten and is resting right now. If we’re back to check her before midnight we should be okay. I’ll go get my gloves and you can go powder the shoes.” she told me, standing up and walking out of the room oh-so-gracefully.

I got up and did as she said, waiting for her to come outside as I tapped my foot impatiently. When she finally came outside I gave her a raised eyebrow and she chuckled, standing close to my side as we left for the center of town where the celebration was at.

“You look spectacular, let’s hope your makeup stays put in this heat.” she joked, a smile growing by every step closer we get.

“Same for you, but you’d look beautiful either way.” I coaxed.

Though the makeup was covering most things, I’d imagined she’d blushed by the way her shoulders tilted, if that makes any sense. I hadn’t mentioned to her that I brought my Tanto with me, a small dagger used in honor, tucked into the side of my ribbons where it was blocked from sight by my arm.

As we got to the area it was being held, you could hear the sound of a koto and shakuhachi being played. The people were all gathered, conversing with each other, eating the sushi and other foods being served. I smiled, looking over to see that Ishi was smiling brightly at the colored lanterns hung above the town square.

“They dye the glass,” I tell her, pointing at the man who did its shop, “it’s a technique the English use in their Catholic churches to make window paintings.”

“That’s beautiful.” she says, now noticing the food, “Let’s eat! I’m starved.”

I chuckle, following her as we pick up the wooden plates and pick food. I followed her to go sit at a table with some of the acquaintances she’d made over the last few years. After about an hour or two, I saw Kawa walking toward our table.

“Otokita, may we speak in private?” he asks, looking far more professional than I’m used to.

I look over to see Ishi giving him an unreadable look and I agree, excusing myself. We walk a few meters away, behind all the set tables and a few rows of trees. He stopped, turning to look at me and giving me a coy smile. I cross my arms grumpily, tilting a hip out and staring at him.

“So, you don’t love me,” he said, smirk not wavering.

“Yes, and I apologize.” I agree sympathetically, nodding my head and looking over his shoulder, back to the table I was at to see Ishi missing. I look out to the dancing area and see her swaying with a young man about her age.

Jealousy.

“Well, I think we can fix that. You just have to see what a great husband I will make for you,” he says, drawing my attention away from my girl.

“What are you talking about, Kawa?” I ask, confused.

“You say you cannot love me, but I think you can,” he reached out, grabbing my hand in his and holding it there, “We already have a connection, you just need it to strength.”

I was shocked, to say the least, I hadn’t expected this from him and I was so confused.

“Kawa, you don’t understand. I can’t love you because I don’t have room.” I say as lightly as possible, trying to release my hand.

“No, no,” he chuckles, pulling my hand back towards himself, “You have room. I accept your duties, I know they come first. I can be secondary, I don’t mind”

“Kawa, you’re really not getting it-” I was cut off by his lips on mine, invading it and making me angry.

I shoved him off of me, turning him around with the Tanto held to his throat. I got close to him, almost touching his nose with my forehead and looked up into his frazzled brown eyes.

“You. Aren’t. Getting. It.” I say through gritted teeth, “I don’t have room to love you because I already love someone.”

He was mad, I could see it. His hands were pinned so he couldn’t do anything. I backed away slowly, keeping the Tanto to his throat, and finally removing it when I was at a safe distance.

“You mean so much to me, Kawa, but do not confuse that with romantic love. You doubt me, see me as another woman, another wife to make dinners. I am not that and I could never love or be with someone who expects that.” I said softer this time to make him understand.

“Who is it? Who do you love?” he asks angrily, a hint of sadness seeping through.

“It isn’t important. I need you to know this isn’t hurt you.” I say seriously, deflecting the question I could barely admit to myself.

“I understand. Just know that I won’t give up on you. I will stop the flirting, but know I will never give up on us.” he said sincerely, making me feel sympathy for his cluelessness.

“I understand,” I say simply, turning around and heading back to our table where Ishi was not present.

I gave the tablemates a questioning look and they all smiled lightly.

“She’s gone from the dance floor, okosama. Try looking near the food, she left with that young man. Possible husband?” one of the older women asked.

I smiled shyly, internally cringing at the thought of her marrying. I thanked them before heading over to the food table to see her and the young man sharing a long, slimy, kiss. I cleared my throat, arms crossed angrily, looking at the two.

“Ishi. We’re leaving, say your goodbyes.” I instruct, reaching to separate the promiscuous pair.

She looked at me, anger and regret shining in those beautiful green eyes. She huffed, turning t the young man and whispering something in his ear and giggling. He smiled, resting a hand softly on her wait. I huffed, tapping my foot and flipping the blade in my hand from earlier.

“Goodbye.” she purred to him, sauntering away from the table and towards our table to say goodbyes.

I’m not going to lie, that hurt, but I really had no reason to discourage her behavior. I wasn’t her father, she could canoodle with whomever she pleases. Still, I was angry.

“What was that?!” I blurted, squeezing the Tanto.

“What was what?” she retorted, “It wasn’t any different than what you and Kawa were doing in the woods. I’m not blind, you know.”

I scoffed speeding up my walking since she had.

“What does that matter? It’s none of your business!” I shout, she scoffed, turning her heel and stopping.

“And what’s any different from my situation?” she seethed, puffing her white cheeks.

“Because it is! Who was he anyway? Is he going to ask for your hand?” I ask honestly, anger radiating from me at the idea.

“Kii Wan! He’s amazing, and maybe he will! And I’ll accept!” she shouts, arms flailing as she steps closer to me.

That shot daggers down my spine. I wanted to scream, cry, yell, fight, stab, and most of all I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her cute face. The face that makes me smile every time I see it.

“Why?” I asked, my voicing cracking slightly as fear crept up my spine.

A single tear. One little tear. It rolled down my face, I could feel it taking some of the makeup with it. I hadn’t cried in nearly 6 years since my father’s death. Not once, but the thought of losing her to some man made my heart ache worse than it ever has. I couldn’t take it, I couldn’t. I had to convince her to stay.

“Oto-” she empathized, stopping before she finished.

“Please.” I cried, “Please don’t do this. Don’t leave me. Am I not enough?”

I sobbed. Sobbed. Actually, truly, sobbed. And she knew. She knew how I was broken. She hugged me, crying just as I am, likely ruining each others kimono. We held each other, tighter than the day she told me her story, and it was bliss. I was broken, yes, but something about this hug told me it wasn’t what I thought it was.

“Otokita, I love you,” she said, staying still as can be, yet still holding onto me just as tightly.

“I love you, too, Ishi.” I emitted with all my heart.

We kissed, on an empty dark road, with ruined smeared makeup, the taste of rice flour invading our mouths, but we didn’t care. Because all thought we would never be able to share our love with the world, we could still love each other. We could love each other until the day we die. Until the day I fulfill my promise to protect Chiba.

“You didn’t really care for that boy, did you?” I asked, regrettably.

“Never, I was simply acting out of anger and jealousy. I’m sorry, Oto,” she mumbled.

As the years moved on, I fulfilled my duty. Kawa accepted that I could never be his and eventually found himself the most beautiful woman he said he’d ever seen. I found that there were many troubles with being, not only a female Samurai but also a bisexual woman in love with another. It wasn’t until 6 years later did my sisters return to take care of my ailing mother. They were happily married to two different and feminist men. The Karanaki name had been carried on through my 2nd niece, and my mother died 8 years later.

I could never regret any of my choices- to raise my sisters Atheist’s, to become both an okugatasama and Samurai, to fall in love with a lost and nearly broken woman. None. It was what led me to my happiness throughout the struggle and judgment of 7th century Japan.

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twilight-resonance · 3 years

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Found Family; Death and Rebirth

This is making good on a step to try as writ per below. Opinions, rather than just events. Thoughts, rather than description. We’ll see how far we make it.

As mentioned several times at this point, we’ve been watching Babylon 5; at this point, we’re wrapping up the series. There are, I think, two episodes left - could be a couple more or one less, but I suspect it’s two. The last half of this season has been the long process of beginning the ending - one of the things I enjoy about Babylon 5 is that it does a wonderful job of telling you exactly where it’s going, but then takes you along for how it happens - because that’s what matters. You know it’s ending, the show knows it’s ending, and the characters know it’s ending - and the last part of the season is all the ways they’re settling out and starting on their own stories to follow, and - that’s the rub of it.

There was a post going around on Tumblr that I saw a few days, maybe a week ago; it was about found family. Someone was expressing that of all the tropes they can think of, one of their least favorite is when you have a found family and then at the end of the story they go their separate ways. And I get that - I truly do. But I find at this point in my life, I think, that that’s what resonates with me far more. Found family that parts ways at the end. It’s... truer to my experience, I suppose, and to my sense of the way the world turns.

I think it’s because the goal isn’t stability; the goal is to grow. Found family is a glorious thing because that’s where healing can happen. That’s where belonging can happen; where safety can happen, security can happen, where catching up on all the things we’ve left behind can finally have a space to be. It’s no secret why we associate found family with happiness; but while it’s a good middle, it’s a bad ending. The goal isn’t perpetual stagnancy, wherein all people stay who and where they are and never leave this happy place again - the goal is to find your footing, and then to continue to grow. Sometimes people grow together, and that’s good; and sometimes people grow apart, and that can be good too. Sometimes that’s the way of things. Whether it’s pursuing a job halfway across the country that you’ve been angling for for years, whether it’s falling in love with a little town that you want to live in, whether it’s pursuing a new interest that takes your time and energy and invites you to spend it elsewhere - all of these things are things that pull people away from one another, one way or the other. But they can still be good. Even if they are still sad.

Maybe that’s a piece of it too. It’s always been the way that I prefer bittersweet endings to happy ones; happy ones, yes - but tempered by sadness, too. I touch less on that perpetual feeling of sorrow under my own surface these days, and maybe that’s good; but even so, there’s a pensiveness and a depth that only comes through with the sorrow. Sorrow, because it means we cared. Because it means we still care. Because it means we are carrying with us pieces of all that we have left behind - sorrow because we do not intend to forget. Sorrow because these are all only moments in time, and that which is sweet becomes all the more poignant when you know that someday it will end. Sorrow is a hard thing; but in moderation, and taken with perspective, it’s a healthy thing. And a meaningful one.

There is something to be said about the way the characters - the way that people - pick up the pieces of all that, in this place, made them who they are; take the common threads of story and tie them off, one by one, like the knots that hold the stitches in. Nothing lasts forever, and a story without an ending becomes... rambling, and muddled, and somewhere in the endless continuation you lose the point. We each have many stories through our time, but in order it make room for new ones, old ones have to end. There’s something to be said about the way they take those pieces from this story with them as they turn to face the beginning of the next path, next door, next place it’s time for them to go. It would be wrong for them to turn away from that path and say, no - I’m staying. It would become the same cycles, over and over again - it would stagnate. The only way forward is to go, whatever that may mean for each character - each person - in question.

Found family is what allows us to move on. Found family is where we find the people who will fight for us - and with us, when what we’re fighting is ourselves. Found family is where we have the safety to confront those shadows, those terrors, those troubles, that have followed us from the harsher stories we all live. Found family is where we find understanding, and happiness, and learn to find our footing - so that we can continue to grow into the people we need to be. There’s a piece of advice I’ve found about moving on that makes me understand more the Buddhist perspective on suffering; which is to say that, before we can move on, we need to learn to be content with loss. Before you can make friends, you need to learn to be content with being lonely. Before you can find and keep a partner, you need to learn to be content by yourself. Before you can heal, you need to become content with the fact that you are not your full self right now. Acceptance comes first; and learning to let go of the suffering comes first; and in letting go of that suffering, it gives us room to grow. I’ve found it to be true - and I’ve found that that’s part of what found family does. I wasn’t able to do what I needed to do to repair my friendships until I became content with the possibility of losing them. I wasn’t able to start healing my anger until I found contentment with the fact that what was might never be again. So it goes, on and on and on.

Life, I feel like, is a perpetual cycle of birth and death and rebirth. We’re many people in our time; or rather, we are many stories, and we play many parts. We are one life as it moves through our stories, and upon each telling it shifts and changes and grows. We can almost all think back to phases and eras of our lives; for some people those eras are defined by school, by friend groups, by places they’ve lived, by things they did - but they are there, almost always. I feel like I’ve gone through three or four deaths of self at this point - some overlapping, but deaths nonetheless. Each death is terrifying, is heart-wrenching, is hard upon hard upon hard - but each death has always been the way forward, too. Each death is letting go. Each death is the ending that lets the new story begin. And that is how the world turns.

Maybe that’s just me, though. There’s a reason I’ve taken the salmon as a symbol of self. The salmon, too, is born and dies and is reborn, over and over again. The salmon is a symbol of transformation through pain and sorrow, and learning to find the joy in life despite it, and a symbol of nourishing the grounds you leave behind with your parting. Maybe that’s the way of things - but it’s also my way of things, and may not be the way for everyone.

Some things come back, too. We don’t leave everything behind - elsewise we would be another person, and it wouldn’t be a rebirth. Many things, we carry with us - to our great sorrow, and our great joy. That is the bittersweetness that rings true, in all things. I have friends that I treasured for a near-decade until we took separate paths in life and all grew apart; and while we brush up against each other’s lives only rarely these days, I still carry with me all the ways they shaped me. And there is a kind of love in that, I think - in looking back at time we spent together and cherishing what was, and what we had with one another. Found family, to say it another way. Families grow and change, too; and that is okay. We all found ours with other people, eventually, even though our paths were intertwined for a while. That doesn’t make them family any less; and on those rare times when we brush against each other, it is still a joy to be in that moment with one another. Even though it ends, and in many ways ended a long time ago.

So those are my thoughts tonight. Someday, maybe, I ought to write about those deaths and rebirths and deaths and rebirths - but not tonight, or not yet. I was able to say these things for a while, and it felt good. There will be other nights for the rest. For now, I ought to process the small things, too - so we move on.

#blog #journal #musings #life death rebirth #Babylon 5 #found family #loss #acceptance #the way the world turns #sorrow #life #salmon #growth #the stories we tell

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themotivationjournals · 7 years

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25 of the Best Self-Improvement Books To Read Before You Turn 25

Topic: Literature, Books, Lists || by STAFF

When it comes to self-improvement books, readers’ opinions don’t meet in the middle. Others feel empowered and committed by the helpful words they encounter, while the other half believes self-improvements book are phony. Regardless, every human being should read at least one self-improvement book in their life, and we have rounded up the best 25 to check out before turning 25!

Whatcha Gonna Do with That Duck?: And Other Provocations – Seth Godin

This book is a masterpiece, and unlike most self-improvement books, this one targets an infinite array of areas in which you can, and ultimately must, improve. With its ruthless honesty and genuine inspiration, Godin makes you ponder the difficult questions you wouldn’t ever dare to ask yourself. The result is a completely new perspective of the world- a fresher, more vibrant perspective, packed with new and bold possibilities. If you need a friend that understands, a boss that forces you to venture deep in your non-comfort zone, a wise guru that tells you what needs to be left behind and a sage that proclaims the coming of a new age, then look no further; you will find these shrewd voices all tied together in this magnificent book. Make sure to get this one.

Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Perhaps it is the fact that randomness played such a significant role in my years as a poker player that I find this book utterly important. We often attribute skill where there is only luck; we confuse correlation with causation and we underestimate the incredible effect small changes can have. This book and my time at the tables gave me a perspective I unfortunately rarely encounter in others: you can do everything right and still lose, or do everything wrong and still win. It is thus not about the outcome; it is about your actions that have lead you there. This important message is central to many of my decisions I make in my life and this book by Taleb helps you develop such a perspective so you will be able to live in a world one cannot fully understand, where the results are not always clear markers of performance and where chance seems to play games with our fates. Stop being fooled by randomness!

The 48 Laws of Power – Robert Greene

I read this book in a time where I thought power was something I should attain. Power for power’s sake. And while I disagree with my former self on this point, the fact remains that power is very real, it forms the invisible scepter of all hierarchical relations around us. I still recommend this book; I believe it is important to know how people use power for their own benefit and what to do to protect yourself from certain abuses of power. Besides the fact that all stories in this book gravitate around power, it contains many life lessons, amazing historical anecdotes and, if read in a certain light, the ability to use power for good. From Caesar to Goethe, Sun-Tzu to Machiavelli, this eye opening book spans a wide range of human development. If you, like me, would rather be interested in something less egotistical, perhaps Greene’s latest book Mastery will suffice (I haven’t read that one myself). Another great book in the same style, but this time around, covering a wider scope, and, perhaps, something that will make the world make a better place.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change – Stephen. R. Covey

The title of this book doesn’t capture it all. Covey shares with us seven habits one should adapt to become truly effective in whatever you would like to achieve. Of course, it is not as easy as it sounds. He stresses the fact that we need to go through a paradigm shift – a fundamental change in how we perceive the world and ourselves. This book can be read as a guide, with practices and everything, to go through the stages in order to make such a shift happen. Part shock-therapy, part ageless spiritual wisdom,Covey’s book is packed with wisdom that actually makes a difference. And, as I mentioned, don’t let the title of the book fool you; it is about much more than just becoming more effective. It is about becoming a whole integer person who not only seeks the best in oneself, but also in the people around her. A must read for anyone who feels there is always something left to learn.

The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys – James Fadiman

While finding a book on psychedelics in a list of books on self-improvement might come as a surprise, I believe any metaphysical distinction between tools such as books, meditation or molecules hold no ground and they should all be solely judged on their merits. And the merits of certain chemical keys, used in a constructive way, are perhaps bigger than any book in this list. The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide will teach you how to prepare yourself and your surroundings, what and how much to take, and what do do when something goes wrong, so you can safely enhance your thinking, creativity, introspection and emotional balance. This book contains everything you need to know about using psychedelics as a tool for self-improvement while drawing on extensive scientific literature and personal wisdom. A must have for the beginning and experienced psychonaut alike.

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time – Brian Tracy

We all know how that destructive downward spiral feels. We have to do some big task, of which the thought alone triggers resistance, not sure how and where to begin and feeling overwhelmed before we start; we get easily distracted to get rid of that feeling, only to suddenly realize that hours went by- precious hours- and then find ourselves in the same position as before, still not knowing where and how to begin, but now, feeling guilty on top of it which expresses itself in more craving for distraction.

To break this spell of procrastination before it paralyzes us, Tracy advises us to Eat That Frog, to set our priorities straight, deconstruct larger tasks into smaller ones, learn when to tackle the big frog first or to start out with something else. Tracy is truly a motivational writer, and while I wished he had gone a bit deeper into the psychological reasons why people procrastinate, it is still a must have for anyone who wants to break the spell and get shit done.

Think and Grow Rich: The Original 1937 Unedited Edition – Napoleon Hill

A from 1937, this book by Hill is a masterpiece. Don’t bother with the edited versions since they all omit important and controversial information: some historical, and some pertaining to the goal of the book, which is to think and grow rich. The word rich might imply that this book is all about material gain, and while it certainly covers that area, it is about much more than that. Perhaps the first explicit mention of positive thinking, on how to care not just about the cash in your pocket, but also the thoughts in your head, this book has been able to withstand the destruction of time. It covers all the basics from planning, decision making and persistence, to the more advanced techniques as auto-suggestion, transmutation and what we can learn from fear. This is not a grow rich book, but a timeless guide to find out what actually matters. As it says clearly in the beginning ‘Riches can’t always be measured in money!’

The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind – Alan Wallace

In a world that is dominated by ever stronger technologies designed to grab hold of your attention, a way to empower yourself is to bring that attention back to where you want it to shine. This book offers just that; in The Attention Revolution, Wallace describes the path to attaining Shamatha, a buddhist meditation state of mind that is free from any flickering of distraction. It is a hard and long path, probably not possible for us to reach in this lifetime. However, even getting to stage two or three will make everything in life easier. A wonderful introduction to meditation, The Attention Revolution will inspire you to take on the challenge and see what training your mind can actually achieve. Once you have achieved such a level of focus you can put it to use to open your heart with the practice of The Four Immeasurables or deepen the practice with this wonderful commentary by Dudjom Lingpa, both by Alan B. Wallace.

The Paleo Manifesto: Ancient Wisdom for Lifelong Health – John Durant

In the last 10,000 years or so it seems we have been propelled into an ever faster paced world forged by our own hands and minds. Only recently have we been able to reconstruct our journey and reflect back upon our humble origins. This amazing book is such a reflection. It goes back to the paleolithic searching for answers to health and longevity. Between science and his personal experiments, Durant weaves a mind blowing story that will convey the importance of an evolutionary perspective on how to live well. It covers everything from nutrition to exercise, from sleep to fasting, from ancient practices to modern biohacking and even has an outline for a vision of the future where depression and obesity have become obsolete. If you only have room for a couple of books on this list, make sure this one is included.

Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation – Daniel J. Siegel

As my Burmese meditation teacher often proclaimed, ‘Mindfulness alone is not enough!’ Siegel seems to have taken this to heart and made an unique synthesis between meditation, psychoanalysis and neuroscience which he calls ‘Mindsight‘, as he says himself, a potent combination between emotional and social intelligence. All of us deal with some disorder or another, something that seems to disturb the very core of our being at ease, and while it might not always be the best strategy to want to get rid of it, it certainly helps to understand and have compassion for that little aspect that upsets that perfect image of ourselves. Brimming with techniques, insights and epiphanies, this book contains everything you need to know to reprogram your brain and to optimally use its capacity of neuroplasticity. A great book for spiritual seekers and scientists alike.

How to Win Friends & Influence People – Dale Carnegie

This is the first self-improvement book I have ever read and it is also probably one of the oldest in this category. Written in 1937, mainly for the door to door salesman of that era, this book by Carnegie can truly be called a classic. It shows what we all intuitively know: it doesn’t matter what your line of work is or what you want to achieve- if you are doing business of any kind, you need to make it about the other person. Being nice helps, a lot. And while I might not fully defend the premise of this book, because it doesn’t distinguish between genuine interest and faking it to get what you want, it still contains a treasure chest full of timeless wisdom. Everybody wants to feel appreciated, and rightfully so. Learning to take a small effort to make someone’s day will make the world run smoother, no matter what your goal is. I still spontaneously remember some of his guidance, and perhaps this quality is the reason why this book still draws millions of readers to this day.

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy– David D. Burns

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is the most effective therapy used by psychologists today; it consists of identifying thought patterns that have a detrimental effect on your self-image and mood, and deconstructing these in order to break out of these destructive cycles. If you want to know how this works, which moods are central in your life, what thought patterns are causing your depression, how to overcome self-judgment and guilt, how to defeat approval and love addiction and how your self-perfectionism is hindering you, then don’t look further; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has helped millions of people and it can help you, and this is the best book for the job. Packed with scientific research, exercises and examples, this is the best improvement your self is going to get.

Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life – Maxwell Maltz

What can a plastic surgeon tell us about happiness? By dealing with his patients, Dr. Maxwell Maltz experienced firsthand that having your expectations come true doesn’t automatically result into a more positive life experience. Their outward appearances did indeed change but their inner insecurity remained. This caused him to find other means to help his patients, resulting in visualization techniques. He found a person’s outer success can never rise above the one visualized internally. This book carries a very honest and humbling story, loaded with fundamental truths about our psychology and how our own philosophy affects us, all told by a very compassionate writer. Of some books it can be said that it will be valuable for years to come, and I am absolutely positive that this is one of them.

Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman

This brilliant book by Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman is a lucid account of all the amazing research he has done over the years. He is the founder of behavioral economics – the way our psychology affects our decisions – and explains in simple prose how our thinking is divided in two systems: one fast and one slow. The fast one is almost instant; it consists of the hardwired instincts that govern emotions, a remnant of an evolutionary past, an unconscious irrational machine. The slow one is deliberate, self-reflexive and logical, but can easily be distracted and takes a lot of effort. Both play a large role in our lives and Kahneman explores when the fast system fails and why the slow system is often not utilized. Packed with mind blowing examples and sharp analyses, this book teaches you how to learn to make sound judgments, and use the best of both systems.

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything – Chris Hadfield

A few extraordinary people journey to the edge of our world and come back with a unique story to tell. Colonel Hadfield is such a person, and his story is perhaps the most important one in this list. While the other books in this list teach you to be independent, visualize your future and dream big, this astronaut’s guide turns these all upside down. A truly remarkable book, overflowing with mind-blowing stories that illustrate the life lessons he learned as one of the most accomplished astronauts that ever lived.Full of compassion, warmth and genuine self-reflexive humor, he conveys to us to be prepared for the worst and never let yourself be swayed from enjoying every moment. Part action story, part no-nonsense hard truth and part timeless spiritual wisdom, this book makes you feel like you stepped onto a rocket ship and experienced what he did while learning these most valuable lessons on the way.

Perfect Health Diet: Regain Health and Lose Weight by Eating the Way You Were Meant to Eat – Paul Jaminet & Shou-Ching Jaminet

No self-improvement list is complete without a nutrition book and the Perfect Health Diet is arguably the best diet book on the market now. If you are overweight or not, feel sick, or just looking for an extra boost in health (and keep it this way), then look no further. From reading decades of studies the authors construct the optimal way to eat, destroying popular food fads in the process. They explain in sufficient detail the optimal macro-ratios, which starches are safe, which vitamins and supplements to take and what foods, or what they call toxins, to avoid. This book is a great supplement to the Paleo Manifesto as it shares its basic evolutionary perspective; we were evolved to eat non-toxic, high fat, moderate protein and carbohydrates. And, sometimes, going around with no food at all, can be a very healthy thing. If your body is not in optimal health, then it is almost no use to read the other books. Make this your priority number one.

Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success – John C. Maxwell

At one time or another, we will all fail. What matters most is how you deal with it once you do. Will you give up? Or will you use it as a stepping stone for success? I recently read an article about new start-ups in silicon valley. Its hypothesis was the more you had failed in the past, the more likely you were going to get funding. Why? Because failing teaches you invaluable lessons, and if you decide to continue after you hit the pavement, the more you have it in you to deliver. Now, this is not in anyway our instinctual reaction to failing. Most of us dread it, avoid it or refuse to fail at all costs. All three are by far sub-optimal. It is far better to accept failure where it arises, to accept responsibility and use it as a way to learn about yourself and your weaknesses. Only when you are absolute honest with yourself with respect to failure can you hope to grow. This wonderful book will teach you how to do exactly this. A honest book for everyone searching for a clean mirror.

The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now hardly needs any introduction. It is perhaps the book that has had the most impact on our collective consciousness in recent years. It inspired millions of people all over the world to live a more fulfilling and compassionate life, all through the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness consists of moment to moment non-judgmental awareness. It is a technique that alleviates depression, increases emotional intelligence and develops compassion- and only recently has come to the west, which remained weary and skeptical until science had validated a wide array of its claims. The brain can be trained. The Power of Now teaches you how to release your attachment to certain thoughts and states of mind, thereby clearing the mind to fully embrace the present moment. If you already have read this book and are looking for deeper understanding, read Wherever You Go, There You Are.

The Last Lecture – Randy Pausch

At some point or another, almost all of us has come across The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. (If you haven’t, watch this powerful message here.) What would you say when you only have a few months left to live? This was probably Pausch’s question he posed to himself when he had to deliver his lecture a week later. But being confined to an academic setting and short time frame he felt he had more to share, thus marking the birth of this book. Filled with stories about his childhood, it is a very down to earth exploration of what it means to chase your dreams, to be a good person and live a life that gives value to others. A beautiful mixture of humor and optimism, his tender voice will be a source of inspiration for everyone who will take the time to listen, something he tried to impart on his readers. A very lovely read. And don’t forget, ‘It’s not about the cards you’re dealt, but how you play the hand.’

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead – Brené Brown

I love Brené Brown’s books. She writes about an insight that I have found to be scary but true at the same time.Vulnerability, unlike we have been taught, is not a weakness, but a power to be tapped. Growing up with the idea that we have to hide certain parts of ourselves, to look strong and persevere at all costs always seemed a facade to me. And now she has the research to back that up. From that place of vulnerability comes a sense of worthiness, which for most of us, needs to be cultivated every day. Only if we get in touch with that tender spot of our hearts can we connect with others and develop genuine compassion, which are prerequisites, Brown tells us, for living a ‘wholehearted life.’ The reality, however, is that we often close down, feel neglected and misunderstood, and rather want the vulnerability and perhaps even ourselves to disappear. This book is an amazing antidote for that common instinct. Want to be truly convinced? Check out her amazing ted talk here.

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark – Carl Sagan

We all find UFO’s fascinating. We all really want to believe in magic or visiting aliens (surely the crop circles are conclusive proof!) and some of us believe the government is poisoning us with chemtrails. At the same time we are fascinated by the progress made by science, by all the new technology and medicines and the fascinating discoveries being made on a daily basis. Clearly, for the average person, it is quite hard to make a distinction between one claim or another – most of us are scientifically illiterate.Carl Sagan fought his whole life against such unreason and claimed that missing this ability to distinguish valid claims from hogwash could plunge us back into the dark ages. This book is perhaps his best on this subject, filled with examples and his eloquent mesmerizing voice, The Demon-Haunted World is a How To guide to arm you against manipulation masked as information. A must read for anyone who still feels the temptation to click sensationalist sophistry.

Philosophy for Life – Jules Evans

As philosopher Sloterdijk puts it; ‘philosophy is a beautiful child of an ugly mother.’ Philosophy first arose when the old Greek polis states were at the brink of destruction. Philosophy, according to Sloterdijk, was not just a way to make sense of the world, to come to knowledge or truth, but to serve as a psychological immune system. This book is an amazing expression of this perspective. From the stoics to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Jules Evans writes about some of the amazing philosophical techniques we can use to train and improve our cognitive immune systems. He weaves ancient stories with modern applications, from heroism to cosmic contemplation, Philosophy for Life a beautifully written book that makes it easy to understand the practical nature of philosophy. Perhaps the book would have been better if he would have gone deeper into the subject matter, but nonetheless he captures the essence of what philosophy can mean for the modern person. A must read.

Man’s Search For Meaning – Victor. E. Frankl

If I had to pick one book from this list for mandatory reading I would choose this one. For three years Viktor Frankl labored in four different Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz. He tells us about his experience and that of his fellow prisoners. Both chilling and uplifting, confronted with the idea that they would be trapped there for the rest of their lives, he gives us an account of those who found meaning and those who succumbed to nihilism. A blend between a memoir, a psychological investigation and a self-help book, Frankl delivers a powerful message: finding meaning lies at the core of being human. From his own experience as a psychiatrist combined with anecdotes from his time in the concentration camps, he tells us how important it is to find meaning in our own lives and what we can become if we don’t. Suffering, he conveys to us, is inevitable. But as to how we cope with it is dependent on ourselves. If we can find meaning, even in the worst acts our species has ever inflicted upon his fellow man, we will be able to move forward with renewed purpose.

Simplify – Joshua Becker

This is a fun little book written by Joshua Becker, a big proponent of minimalist living. We all know that quote from Fightclub: “Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.” Well, this is ending. Slowly we are outgrowing an era where the unquestioned mantra ‘more is always better’ dictates our behavior. Rather, we now find ourselves, our lives and our homes cluttered with too much information, too much stuff and just too much shit we don’t need. This simple book helps you become aware of the freedom gained from living with less. It is a small book, easily read under an hour, but it carries a persuasive punch to start living live in a very different way.

Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It – Kamal Ravikant

The fundamental ground upon which all true self improvement is build is called self-love. Because in the end, no matter which way you turn, if you don’t love yourself, you will sabotage yourself at one point. You will think that, for some reason or another, you are not worthy. And if you think that, why would you truly want to achieve anything? And this is not just about achievement. This is about how you approach yourself every day; this is what you see when you look in the mirror. We make so many snap-judgments about ourselves- often without being conscious of them- that are filled with negativity, haltering us before we can even begin to heal. This powerful book shows you the antidote. Self love. Not to be confused with creating some narcissistic image of ourselves that some previous books in this list implicitly endorse, but self love, that inner gratefulness that no external condition can take away. Self love, that infinite source you can share with others.

Which one is your favorite?

Is a book missing in the 25 Best Books on Self-

Improvement You Need to Read Before You Turn 25? Thank you for reading :)

[THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BY LIFEHACK]

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