Water

You know, it is coming close to the end of my twenty-fifth revolution around planet Earth and upon conclusion of my cosmic voyage there are many things I have learned. Besides the obvious (motor skills, origami and laser tag) there is one great piece of wisdom that I’ve gathered: all living things deserve respect. I’ve been in a whirlwind of struggle through various religions and grooming habits but this one important virtue holds true. I thought of this tonight as I watched a mouse struggling for life while being stuck in a morbid glue trap on my kitchen floor. I didn’t put the trap there but I became overwhelmed with the notion that somehow I had a responsibility to do something in this situation. I couldn’t let him suffer so I rolled him up and struck him several times with a frying pan until the paper was flat.. it didn’t take much. I found myself asking the stars what Bhanti would have done in this situation but I decided to look in myself for my own reasons. I looked at the sky for a while and smiled just because I know how. I do feel sad about this event and I do not feel that it is a sign of my own personal weakness for having thought so much about it. In fact, I really enjoy life in every aspect of the gem and out of respect for it I never want to spend my time here getting in the way of anyone’s path. So I came inside and took a long drink of water. Water.. the very essence of life, without it we would not exist. I ate dinner with Ryuta tonight. It was a delicious pasta we tag-teamed with roasted garlic and a zesty sauce. Every time before we eat, Ryuta puts his hands together in front of him and mutters something in Japanese. Afterwards he puts his hands together in the same way and mutters something slightly different. It wasn’t long before I started doing this too every time we eat together and often on my own. I asked him what is saying and he told me that he is a Buddhist and as part of his religion he thanks the food and pays respect to the life that has ended for him to continue living, be it plant or animal. Having experienced only a fraction of Buddhism in my past in concerns with geographic origins (Theravada from Sri Lankan monks) I find myself even luckier to have this unique roommate, whereas I know very little of Japanese Buddhism. So somehow I have survived for almost twenty-five years amidst the myriads of calamities offered by this world and really I feel very good about it. I’ve made some poor choices in the past that unfortunately I have to regret, like the time I held a laser pointer in my right eye for far too long when I was in high school.. yeah.. not too smart. Or perhaps the time I leapt from a balcony trying to land on an old sofa however grossly miscalculating my jump and crashing into a coffee table.. that’s right kids, I’m an elementary teacher now. So either way something feels that I should be alive albeit I have a slight limp now and everything is a bit darker out of my right eye. However of my short list of regrets I continue to strongly regret all the years (teenage mostly) I’ve spent being so negative and apathetic to the world. I used to really hate it here and now days I look back and wonder what was really so bad about being well fed and having access to fresh water let alone trillions of other luxuries that I took advantage of, like good parents. This fish is not afraid to admit the mistakes it has made and really it is very happy be able to continue swimming in the great ocean of life. Like all things, the same force that created this fish will one day swallow it whole and there is nothing one can do about this but raise his glass and make a toast to that force. While cheers are being distributed, cheers to you who taught me long ago to never underestimate the power of positivity. I really cannot thank you enough for pointing at this path and telling me that I should see where it leads, you’ll never know what you’ve done to me. If only those path might cross again. Life here is all coming up roses. There are challenges but they are met with open arms. For now, goodnight moon – I’ll always be your biggest fan.

Ryuta Takeda