the arduous journey

so, i begin this new year with an arduous journey that began with a few hiccups.  i did not realize my flight began with a domestic flight to sydney, and thus, after partying into the wee hours, arrived at the international terminal to confusion and dismay. thankfully, i found out i was supposed to be at the domestic terminal and alex took me there, and waited with me for the next two hours until my flight actually left.

reading the travel diaries of basho makes me itch for travel; he hit the road with nothing more than his rope sandals and a reed hat, to traverse the wooded landscapes of kansai and northern honshu a hundred years ago.  he found beauty everywhere he went, because as a poet, that is what he saught. so, with basho in mind i look forward to entering the land of the rising sun with an open mind and eyes that seek the beauty in everything (though they may be a little bloodshot by the lack of sleep by that time!)

"...all who have achieved real excellence in any art possess one thing in common, that is, a mind to obey nature....whatever such a mind sees is a flower, and whatever such a mind dreams is the moon..."