Contemplations

Trip Start Mar 25, 2007

Trip End Apr 06, 2007

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Flag of United States Bloomington, Minnesota
Thursday, April 26, 2007

Sleep is tugging at the edges of my brain and my eyes can't seem to stay open all the way... but I was tumbling over Japan in my mind, thinking about the next time I will see it. I thought about the other places I would like to see, Ireland, Wales, Italy... and I realized it would never be the same. Even though I dreamt of being in Tintangel and roaming the countryside of Arthur, I would have control- I would know the language (less the welsh, of course) the structure, the politics, how to navigate, what to eat... I let go of everything to go to Japan. All I had to move me forward was the dreams I've had since I was little, the books I read as I got older, the art I studied recently... all of them loosely held together fairy tales and dreams, fantasies of a magical place. And when I got there, I couldn't do anything but accept what was given to me- much like that little girl who saw her first picture of a geisha so long ago, and fell in love.

I've vowed to go back. I've promised myself I will learn more Japanese so I can communicate and ask questions and wander on my own... and I realized tonight that it will be good, and my life will be richer for it, but...
Letting go of the control, I saw Japan and all of her treasures through the eyes of a much younger Shannon that had dreams of escaping into this beautiful world of Geisha and gardens and art and fairy tales. I truly received a gift, and I will be eternally thankful that I could give it to that little girl who needed that dream to be real.

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