From Japan, with Love: First Frost

Entry #020:

2021 October 23

Yesterday, I made a backwards commute out of the city to a coastal town a couple of hours away. Like many towns in Japan, Odawara is one part sea, and one part mountain. Yesterday I was in the mountain for an introspective study group led by a tea master and a calligraphy artist. We whisked matcha, made an intentionally slow walking meditation through the forest, and a lunch that included aromatic pickled Autumn ginger buds, persimmons with sesame sauce, and miso marinated roasted eggplant. But what was the greatest gift of the day was the 20 meditative minutes of creating ink with a sumi stick. Before even picking up a brush, comes preparing ink. It’s 20 minutes of clearing our your ego and letting the heavens and earth connect through your being and out through the ink. It’s 20 minutes thinking about who you’ll be writing to, in this case myself. 20 quiet, delicious minutes to breathe and connect your heart to someone. It was one of the most special things I had done in quite some time. It made me want to write these entries with proper ink and brush. 

♡ momoko

Microseasonal Stars

October 23 - 27

Autumn > Morning Frost > First Frost

What changes have you noticed in your surroundings in the early mornings?