Ponzu Purification

Mr. Bourdain left me tonight with thoughts of Japan. Thoughts of the brief instance of my time here on Earth in which I spent my days and nights immersed in a culture both very alien and very similar to the one I have become so used to. To be a part of such a culture and yet be so apart from it is a strange thing. As an American I have little grasp on what is to be a part of a cohesive culture, to have tradition. And what I gleaned of the central ethos in my travels is far removed from anything I can find here. I encountered an appreciation of things which I've always simply passed by or skipped. A simple noodle. An oblique ikebana. An empty space. A focus on the beauty of the present while encompassing past and future. This is what I learned and what I have forgotten. I have been stuck between past and future and never living the present, only killing time. This is usually where I wrap my thoughts up in a nice, neat package. This is usually where I mark some change or proclaim some mission statement. But not tonight. Tonight I think I will just contemplate the present and go from there.