As One Network

As One Network News February 2023

With the last heavy snowfall, Suzuka city here has become a silver-white world for the first time in a long time.
I hope you all are doing well and haven't caught a cold.
In 2023, overseas travel restrictions has been eased drastically, and the passage of people has started to return to Japan.
As One Seminars were held in Europe and also in neighboring South Korea in January, and we continue to receive exchange enquiries from other countries.
The strong movements of the youth have been arising, and the activists as well as the practitioners worked together since last year. We believe they show that society itself is beginning to change significantly after a period of burial over the past few years.
Here's to creating together a world where humanity, nature and all on the globe can live happily ever after!

https://mailchi.mp/c714a4981dfd/news-feb2023-hp

I woke up to a stinging sensation on my cheek.
It was the morning of New Year's Day.
I looked around from under the covers to see what was going on, and saw that the sliding glass door of the living room next door was fully open.
I looked in the direction of the sound and saw that my brother was meticulously scrubbing the floor.
"Oh, Kazuki, you're awake! Maybe it's because we don't live here all the time, but it's dirty and that's not good..."
Saying this, my brother's hands kept moving toward the kitchen. The temperature outside is -10 degrees Celsius.
Since yesterday, my brother and I have been in Matsumoto, Shinshu, where I was born and raised, to see my elderly parents and spend the New Year's holiday.
My eldest son, Masakazu, and second daughter, Wakana, are also coming, so we are staying at a second house at the foot of the mountains, a 10-minute drive away from my parents' office and home in the city.



A short time later, my parents arrived. Seeing my brother cleaning the house the whole time, my mother said to me.
" He's going to get laughed at for cleaning so early in the morning on New Year's. He's so unbalanced,"
She was appalled.
At noon, we all had a traditional Japanese dinner (Osechi).
After that, my children and I went to an observatory where we could see the Northern Alps under a clear blue sky, visited a shrine, enjoyed our first bath in the evening at Utsukushigahara Onsen (hot spring), and had another evening dinner at a hot pot, but something was not quite right with Wakana.
At first, she was laughing and blurting out, "My nose is running, and I can't taste the food, even though it's a great meal."
But then she started coughing, and when my brother, who is a doctor, examined her, he found that she had a fever and might have contracted corona or influenza.
"I thought it would be terrible if Grandma and Grandpa got corona, so I had a PCR test done the day before I arrived and an antigen test done on the same day, both of which were negative," said Wakana.
At my brother's instruction, I drove with Masakazu to buy a test kit for the nasal cavity. The drugstores that were open during the day were all closed at night, and after searching all over town, we finally found one.
"I'm so glad you were able to stay up until New Year's night. I really appreciate it."
The words just spilled out of my mouth.

As it turned out, she was negative for influenza and positive for corona.
Wakana was immediately quarantined to her room. The rest of our family were all considered to be in close contact with the Corona patient, Wakana.
My brother and I had both planned to return home on the 3rd, so we each began to deal with the situation.
My brother, in particular, immediately called the doctor on duty at the hospital where he worked and arranged for the postponement of surgery after the 4th.
On January 3, my brother tested everyone and we all came back negative.
On January 4, Masakazu was told that if he tested negative that day, he could return home by train, but the test results were positive.
My parents also tested positive. My brother and I tested negative, so my parents and the children had to live in isolation in two places. We had a lot of work to do, such as taking them to the hospital, getting a positive certificate, contacting the public health center, and supporting them in their daily lives, including food.
In the end, my children and I were able to return home on the 12th.
My parents were elderly and had some underlying medical conditions, but thanks to the vaccine, they were able to survive without becoming seriously ill.
My brother went home first, as he did not want to delay the patient's surgery any longer.

Unexpectedly, I had to spend a week with my brother and two weeks with my parents. It was probably the first time since I was in high school. Every day, my brother and I went to the supermarket to buy groceries.
"Let's buy this 47 yen Mito natto (fermented soybeans), it's cheap and looks tasty." We went shopping while saying that.
This was probably the first time since we went shopping together for snacks the day before a field trip in elementary school.



At our house, plastic models of tanks and airplanes we had made as children were displayed in a glass case. It was easy to tell at a glance which one was made by which one.
My brother's models were so precise and exquisite, with elaborate and unique paint jobs, that they looked as if they could start moving at any moment. Mine were broken, missing parts here and there, and they seem to have been made in a random and rough way.
In our free research at school, my brother won the prefectural science prize for his experiment of feeding food additives to mice and dissecting and analyzing them, and I would imitate him, but I never got a decent result and always came up with a half-baked result.
Since we went to the same school through high school, I would often pull out my brother's test papers and cram them in one night for the regular test, and I would often get similar questions, and only then would I get a good score, but never any real ability.
I was always chasing, chasing, chasing my brother who was 1 year and 4 months and 2 grades older than me, but I couldn't catch up to him.
I thought, "This is the kind of person who excels, who works hard every day , without any emotional ups and downs.
I was proud of my brother and kept boasting about him, even though I could never become like him.
When I heard that my brother was going to become a doctor, I thought, "People would want to be treated by someone like him."

After my brother left first, I was sorting through photo albums of our family and other things, and I came across his application form from high school.
Why it was there when he was supposed to submit it to the university he was applying to is a mystery to me, but in the last section of the mostly all-five score, there is a sentence that reads.
"He has a mild and cheerful personality ・・・・・・ (followed by good conduct, etc. all the time) ・・・・・. But he is also very meticulous."
It made me laugh.
Among the dozens of albums, there were many pictures of my brother and me together.
I lived in the same room with my brother until I was 16 years old, so I felt again that I had spent more time with him than with my parents, more than anyone else.
We are always photographed together side by side in the house, in the yard, in the park, at relatives' houses, and on trips.

　

I'm sure that most of these photos were taken by either my mother or father, but what were they thinking when they looked at us and pressed the shutter of their camera?
I could not always do as well or as meticulously as my brother, but I have no memories of my parents ever forcing me to be like him or chastising me for it.
They kept looking at my brother and me, each different from the other, as if they were admiring my brother's beautiful plastic model and my broken plastic model side by side, enjoying them. The number of shutters pressed may have been only a few hundred, but the shutters of my parents' eyes would have been pressed countless times.
And my brother, who was always next to me, still lives in me even now that we have grown apart.

As an adult, there was only one time when my brother scolded me.
It was four years ago, when Wakana went to Uganda to volunteer as part of a university club activity.
A phone call came in from herself that she was out of breath, and when my brother diagnosed her remotely, he told me that she would die unless she was given a specific antibiotic.
At that time, Wakana was in a rural area of Uganda, so there were no doctors, no hospitals, and no one to help her.
I was desperate to find a hospital in Uganda that could treat the disease. There were many things I did not understand, and in the midst of contacting my brother repeatedly, I even tried to get the office staff at the hospital to connect me to the phone while my brother was in the middle of his examination.
He said, "Kazuki, I understand how you feel, but Wakana is not the only patient!"
He scolded me and admonished me to wait for a while.
In the end, my brother sent the antibiotic data to the hospital, and the local staff spent hours transporting Wakana to the hospital.
For me, it was an opportunity to know the rigor of my brother's work and the kindness he showed to others after decades of dealing with each and every life. It was a figure of my brother that I had never seen when I was a child.



When I came back to Suzuka for the first time in two weeks, many people said, "Welcome back!" and "How was it?" I was approached by many people. I had only informed a few people that I was dealing with Corona for my parents and children, so I was a bit surprised!
I was also asked by people I only see once or twice a month, "Are your parents okay?" I felt a bit strange.
Even from Academy students whom I hardly talk to on a daily basis, when they ask me "How was Matsumoto?" In response to the question, "How do they know so much?" A line of question marks lined up in my head.
What is the information communication system in the Suzuka community like?
Before, the topic was something like, "There is no gossip or rumors spreading here at all, I wonder why?" "Why is that?" Recently, I had never heard of "rumors" and felt that I was far away from them.
But, on the other hand, is it possible that we "feel each other's presence somewhere"?　Like, "I haven't seen that person recently, I wonder how he/she is doing?"
It's as if that person is still alive in each other's hearts, even if only slightly.



I happened to be at a social gathering of people who had come on the Suzuka tour, and one of the participants asked me
"When a community becomes that close, like a family, what happens to your original family?"
I told him about my two weeks of living in Corona, but I don't think there is anything in me that can cut me off from my original family or the larger family of the community.
However, I felt as if an arrow of questioning was pointed in my direction, wondering what I am trying to do in Suzuka, and why I am living here now.

During one of the familiar Thursday-1 family meetings, Toshimi had this to say.
"I don't know why, but many times I can picture my own father and mother in our meetings.
If I had to describe it in words, I would say it looks like they are trying to pour all of themselves into me and my younger siblings.
It's not about what they did for me or anything, it's about the root of it.
I don't know why it comes to mind.
When I gave birth, I held the newborn in my arms and said, " Thank you for being born," and I felt a sense of love that I wanted to pour everything I had into it. As if milk would naturally come out of my boobs."



"When did my parents' image reside in me?
They both passed away a long time ago, and I'm already past the age my parents were when they died, but it's like there's a parent figure inside me.
I don't know if that is a true parental figure or not.
I'm teaching swimming to the Cherish kids right now, and I want to give them everything I have, and it just comes up.
I wonder..."



I sometimes think to myself in a great attitude,
"I'm alive."
But
I am alive =
I am being kept alive.

In me, that person is alive.
Many people are alive.
Regardless of whether I like them or not,
whether they are good or bad.

The person, the person, the person who lives in me...

I live with that person in me.
I live by that person in me.

Human beings are fascinating.

Seven people participated in the As One Suzuka Community Tour for 3 days and 2 nights from January 26 to 28, and 3 people participated in the 4 days and 3 nights from January 28 to 31.


With Academy students Tacky (guide) and Su Jung (interpreter) at Suzuka Farm

The first half of the group was Mr. Lhim, who has been interacting with Suzuka for the past 10 years, and his friends who are connected in Korea.



During the exchange in their native language with Korean friends who are staying in Suzuka

People who run a community, people in education, and representatives of NPOs were introduced by Mr. Lhim to the As One Network and Suzuka's efforts, and visited to learn about the new social endeavors.



Mum's Lunchbox store interior tour

The second half of the group consisted of two people who are active in a community in Busan and the other was an elementary school teacher in Seoul.



With Kimiko, who took care of our food and other needs

They heard Mr. Lhim introduce the As One Suzuka community from a fellow local resident, and decided to visit to see if there was anything they could use as a hint for their own activities.



Mr. Inagaki's cheerful talk opened their hearts.

A woman from Seoul visited us because she wondered what was going on in Suzuka, as some of her old friends were going to and staying in Suzuka and some of them were living there. "I want to know," and visited us.



In the satoyama, Mr. Suzuki prepared an experience of mushroom fungus cultivation!

Each of the participants seemed to feel a lot of things by experiencing the community activities and people of Suzuka.

Here are some of their impressions.

The way of thinking about people and communicating with them is free and without boundaries. Everyone seems to think of each other as a close family, and I was impressed by the fact that they share things without being concerned about themselves. It is as if they have broken out of the confines of existing society and are regaining their true human nature."



Experience the ScienZ exploration, new perspectives.

"It was good to see the mind that happens within a person, the relationship between focusing on that mind and also examining what state other people are in.
I was especially impressed by the support I received from people who were able to see and understand my condition together with me and not just me alone. I would like to spend time in such a relationship myself. Thank you very much."



Mr. Yagi talked about community life, structure and management.

"It seems to me that the two wheels of exploring about me and building up a self-sustaining community have created the ideal form of a community.
I would like to observe the people here more.
I would like to discuss this with my children and let them experience it. "



Visiting JOY, a store of mutual giving

"The biggest problem one runs into while running a community seems to be the question of how to create a community where the community is not based on individual sacrifice, but on free individuals, where the community serves the full life of the individual. Although our stay in the As One community was short, the tour provided us with inspiration and ideas on how to resolve these concerns. "



Visiting a Mum's Lunchbox company with a wide selection of vegetables and rice from the farm.

"The Suzuka community meetings are a fundamental way of doing this, with people listening to each other, looking more into themselves, and the safe relationships that are created in the process. We'd like to try to incorporate that ourselves."



With Su jung (Korea), an Academy student who experienced her first experience as an interpreter

During the tour, the participants also had time to interact with their Korean peers who are staying, studying, and living in the Suzuka community.



Touching one's heart and sheding tears at the exploratory experience

In early January of this year, As One Sseminar was held in Korean for the first time.

The participants of this tour also expressed their desire to participate in the seminar and to tell their friends and family members about it, and to connect and do it.

The network between As One Network Korea and Japan has been growing over time, and we look forward to more and more activities in the future.

The first 【As One Seminar】 of 2023 was held from 1/3 to 1/9.



Here are some of the participants' impressions of the seminar.

Through this seminar, I felt for the first time the experience and relief of having all my senses, thoughts, and mind accepted (without being judged as good or bad).

By experiencing this feeling of being accepted by others (no matter what I say or how it is said, even if it is not perfect) (like the feeling that others are doing what I cannot do...), I became able to be OK with my own thoughts and feelings.

I was very happy because I have always wanted to believe in people, but have been unable to do so or have been wary of them.

I wanted to create a family-like relationship with people, but I had given up on the idea that it would be impossible. But through the experience of the As One Seminar, I realized that it might not be impossible! It was a place that gave me hope that it might not be impossible! (Female in her 20s)



It was not so much a week of "gaining something" as it was a week of just savoring the space where people, their existence, their thoughts, their feelings, their communication, their talking, and the conversation of their heads, hearts, and senses gradually came to harmonize with each other.

I am not very good at "speaking" and "expressing my feelings," and one of the reasons I participated in this program is because I find it difficult to express my feelings in words on a daily basis.

I answered the questions and listened to everyone's answers. At first, I was listening as a matter of course, thinking that it is natural for people to think differently, but then I found myself reacting to other participants who responded to one word in the session. However, as I listened and learned about the other person's feelings, my awareness gradually changed, and I began to want to listen, to know, and to receive, and I experienced a strange sensation that I was coming closer to the other person.

I also felt the warmth that when I asked them to listen to my thoughts and feelings, my feelings of no or inability, they accepted them as if they were their own, and my friends moved to support them. I was the one who thought it was no good. I was also the one who thought I had to take care of myself... I was glad to have a realistic realization that I was the one who had to take care of myself.
I was also glad that I was able to feel "don't think with one person's head, but think with everyone's head" in real time from the people at As One Community.

To be able to receive and accept. From there, people's love naturally overflows. I went back to my room and talked with my friends about how we don't need anything else.
I felt that the power that was inside of me was released when I became aware of such a feeling as a physical sensation.

I am looking forward to going home and putting it into practice with my family and friends.
I feel that the As One that I hear from others and the As One that I experience myself have entered me deeply and profoundly.
Thank you very much. I will come back! (30s female)

As One Seminar was held in Switzerland. (12/27-1/2)

Men and women of all ages from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Brazil, and Japan gathered for a week to eat, sleep, and explore together, experiencing a intimacy like that of a family.

They left for their respective countries full of hope: "I have found my true wish," "A peaceful revolution has taken place," "It is possible to have intimate, comfortable relationships without anxiety," and "A happy, conflict-free world can be realized from all around me."

The first As One Seminar will be held in Germany on January 18.

In the spring, a tour from Switzerland to As One Suzuka Community is also taking shape.

We feel that the wish for a "harmonious society" is beginning to take shape and spread in Europe.


Switzerland Seminar

As One Seminar was held in Germany for the first time.

As One Seminar in Germany

There really was a warm atmosphere, like that of an intimate family.

I was surprised that I could realize my unconscious fixed ideas and overcome it all at once.

I became aware of my true wishes.

"I want to explore more and move forward together", they said with beautiful smiles as they departed for their various destinations.

It was a very fulfilling week with the help of Una Village

Happy Lunar New Year, 2023!

Wish you all a healthy and happy.
How was the year 2022 for you?
As seen by the war between Russia and Ukraine, conflicts and disputes remain unresolved. And as shown by the birth rate, it has become a difficult social reality even to produce, nurture and sustain the next generation.
Once again, as we approach 2023, it is the most urgency of the As One Network's aims, "to realise a happy society without conflict", is now firmly in place.
Let everyone in the world be happy!" With this fundamental wish in our hearts and minds, let us join hands firmly with like minded people around the world and move forward strongly.

https://mailchi.mp/e3b3cb4ffd51/news-jan2023-hp

Alex" and "Antje" who came to Switzerland and stayed at As One Suzuka community for 3 months from September.

They returned to the Swiss community in December and are now living there.



Here is a little bit from Alex's blog about what happened afterwards.

I am now a different person than I was before I went to Suzuka. I think that I was like that now and could just look freely in practical everyday life without effort is also a result of the regular As One meetings with Sakai-san and Diego and Nanako-san and Antje. And the telephone meetings with Marceline. Not all of these meetings were always pleasant for me. Sometimes it was almost too much for me or I had trouble finding something to say.


*They works in Switzerland, baking and selling bread, etc.

Maybe because I had bad experiences with meetings in Switzerland. But I think these meetings in Suzuka have brought me closer to the Alex I really am. This Alex seems to be someone who is calm inside and enjoys life with other people.

I can need more As One meetings.
I feel that I want to go back to Japan to learn more.


*Delicious bread made by Alex and Antje

Creating the Next Society - serial no.11
Masashi Ono, ScienZ Institute, Inc.



Chapter Three

4. Parenting: there is no force them do it or stop it

To nurture a child in its own way

We are often asked the question: "How do you raise and educate children in the As One Suzuka Community?
The nurturing of the next generation is a very precious theme. Indeed, it is one that we would like to focus on.
There was a time in the early days of our community, when we had an uncertified nursery school for about four years. However, it became clear to us that no matter how motivated and willing we were, we were not yet "doable persons or a society" enough. and we closed our popular day-care center.
We decided that our first priority was to nurture the adults ourselves to become "doers" and create a social environment, so we spent the next 10 years nurturing us and building a community.

Finally, in 2015, we began to focus on the theme of "child growth" in concrete terms.
I would like to briefly introduce one aspect of this.

Community Saijiki literary calendar

Entrusting

坂井和貴(Kazuki Sakai)

On Sunday mornings in winter, I pack up and head for Misuzu Lake.
It is a small lake about 1,000 meters above sea level, and in my distant boyhood, it was our "winter garden”.
In December, a corner of a local newspaper would indicate the thickness of the ice on Lake Misuzu and other lakes in Nagano Prefecture, and tell us whether or not we could skate on the ice. I vaguely remember that the borderline was around 12 cm, and every morning I would roll up the newspaper, hoping that the ice would break through that point soon.



Most of the time, we take a bus from downtown Matsumoto.
The elevation of Matsumoto Station is less than 600 meters, so it is about a 400-meter climb, but it is steep from Asama Onsen on the way. At each of the seven bends and ninety-nine turns, the car slows down so that we can enjoy a relaxing view of the city below. It was on this mountain road that I encountered a sea of clouds for the first time in my life, which shook my children's hearts.
As the end of the road nears, I see children already starting to slide on the ice and adults fishing for wakasagi (smelt), and my heart goes down to the lake a step earlier. ・・・・・

Lake MisuzuL used to be the site of the National Winter Athletic Meet, with more than 30 cm of ice every winter, but in recent years there has been almost no ice at all, and of course the skating rink has disappeared, and the crowds of children heading there have ceased to exist.
Compared to those days, it may be a much milder winter now, but winter life has begun here in the Suzuka community.

"Hey, how many kerosene cans count?"
Every Friday afternoon around 1:00 p.m., Mr. Onda would show up at the information desk and ask.



"I think it's about 20 cans so far, I'll send out another confirmation e-mail to the group line."
Nana-chan responds, and several additional orders are placed, closing at 3:00 PM.
Then Onda-san came again and took the order forms from everyone.
On the following Saturday morning, Mr. Onda goes around to each house and delivers a 20-liter tank full of kerosene to the front door.

Although kerosene heaters are more fuel-efficient than electric or gas heaters, it would be unrealistic to expect each household member to go to a gas station to fetch kerosene every time they need it.
It is because there are people like Mr. Onda who are in charge of this task that the project has continued for many years, and it can be said that the project has become a reality.
Also, by specializing in this area, various ideas are born, such as where to purchase the items and how to deliver them, which makes the process more enjoyable. Or, "Hey, Mr. or Ms., I haven't received your order for kerosene.　I hope you haven't forgotten. Are you keeping warm? " We can look at each other's lives from a single bottle of kerosene.

"I wish I had a stove to heat the bathroom, what do you think?"
Masako asked,
"I have a gift certificate from Suzuka City, and I can use it at an electronics store there. I hope I can buy a stove with it."
Masako is a member of the Thursday-1 family in the community, and she often comes to me for advice. The other day, we bought a "book stand for reading in bed" together, and I went to install it in her bedroom. I found a picture of Mr. Ogura, her partner who passed away a few years ago, on her bedside table, so I unexpectedly had the chance to pray for him.

We both searched the Internet for the right kind of heater and decided that this halogen heater, which has no risk of electric shock, would be a good choice. Masako said she would go there in the afternoon.
A few days later, I was wondering what had happened to the heater.
"・・・then I was going to buy a heater, but I wasn't feeling well, so I decided not to go. It's not very cold yet, so I thought I'd give it a try and see how long I can go without a heater. "
Some of the family members said, "You don't have to hold back," or "You're qualified enough to buy a stove."
The next day, the strongest cold wave of this winter was coming! or so the weather news came on.
"Masako-san, I wonder if she is too lazy to go out and buy one by herself. Let's go to the electronics store together."
So we got in touch with each other and drove to the electronics store. Come to think of it, she had been going to the hospital regularly for medical treatment, had side effects from her medication, and had also had to give up her driver's license, all during this time.
We went in, and since we had already decided what we were going to buy, we were done in 10 minutes. We were able to carry it right up to her room, set it up, and use it.
When I met Masako two days later, she called me.
She said, "I just turned it on for five minutes and it warmed up the bathroom. It wasn't cold at all even though there was a cold wave coming."



Mr. Iwata is a Japanese-style painter who lives in the community.
Every night, he goes to the Motoyama family diagonally across the street to take a bath.
The trigger was that as part of his treatment for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), he was no longer able to apply a neck and shoulder bandage to his neck and shoulders before going to bed. At first, he only went to have the pads applied, but then he began to feel hesitant about bothering Mr. Motoyama and Ms. Teruko late at night just for that purpose, so he would go or not. When he mentioned this to the others,
"Well, why don't you go take a bath and have them put a sheet on you at the end of the day? Then, if you leave the laundry there, Teruko-san will be happy to wash it for you. Iwata-san, you won't have to prepare and clean up your own bath, and you can have your laundry done, too."
Mr. Ono came up with the idea, and for the past six months, Mr. Iwata's "Motoyama family life" has continued.

When I went to take a bath at the Motoyama household,
I would find the two of them watching TV over the kotatsu.
When I came out of the bath,
they would put a compress on me and Teruko would rub my shoulders.
Teruko-san rubs my shoulders and we watch TV together.
It's a very pleasant time!
Yesterday, I fell in love with a classical guitarist's performance.
Today, Mr. Motoyama and I watched a program about the 50th anniversary of Youmin's debut.
It's just a little time at the Motoyama family's house, but
I had the feeling of living there.
Dining life, life with JOY, life with Meetings,
I feel that the Motoyama family's life is like these.
I mean, the children's practice time and the adults' drawing time are also part of my life.
What do I mean by "living"?
I feel like I am not alone,
but in the midst of such a place and activity,
receiving something one way or the other.
I can say it is a place where I can be fulfilled.
But there is something more than just me.
I'm putting myself there.
I entrust myself to it?



Sometimes, people who read this Community Saijiki literary calender ask me this question.
"Whenever I read the Community Saijiki literary calendars, I always get a warm feeling, but do you have any conflicts or confrontations living together in the community?"
Each one of us is not a saint, we are not well-rounded people, and we are all inexperienced and inadequate. We make mistakes, failures, and errors frequently, and at such times, we sometimes feel as if we are blaming the other person based on our past habits and circuits.
But at such times, when I become aware that we are working and living with each other trying to make sure there are no mistakes, "blaming" clearly comes to the fore as something unusual and out of the ordinary that does not fit the situation or my own mindset. It makes me feel ashamed. It is ridiculous and makes me laugh.
I hear that blaming does not solve the problem because people tend to be stubborn or hide it, that what we want to do is not to blame but to investigate the cause of the mistake, and that theoretically this may be true, but rather than theory or logic, I feel that "blaming" is becoming less and less comfortable for me and society, and it seems to be gradually disappearing from within and around me...

The way home from Lake Misuzu is almost always changed to walking in the upper grades of elementary school.
No one decided to do so, but for some reason it just happens.
We slip and slide until we can't stand on our backs until the afternoon, and then we go back down the mountain.
With friends and children alone, sometimes by myself.
We descend, slipping and sliding down animal trails, paths, cliffs, and the like, each time finding a new route. with no intention of going back along the winding road.

It was about 15 kilometers to the city center where we lived. But I didn't think too much about it before I did it. I just imitated the upperclassmen and did it right away, so there was no sense that it was hard or tiring.
Sometimes I got injured or lost, but there were also some interesting experiences, such as helping a lady pull out radishes and getting one as a souvenir when I ran into her working in the mountains, or being overwhelmed when I happened to come across a festival where everyone in the town of Asama Onsen came out to the entrance to pickle nozawana (a type of pickled nozawana). I was inspired by such ocasions, and decided to walk down the mountain again.
When I arrived home in the evening, my parents, whether they knew it or not, always greeted me with a calm face.
In this day and age, people would be concerned about the safety of mountain trails or worried about children walking alone, but the atmosphere of the town or the social fabric of the town made such things easy.
If one lived a normal life at that time and place, everyone would be able to do so.
It is a blessing that both parents and children can entrust their lives to such a place without any doubts at all.
A state of mind in which there is no awareness of even "entrusting".

About 10 days ago
"We are now preparing kimchi at the Friday-4 family."
A message and a picture came in from Naoe and Junna.
Since Heung mi and Jin-chan from Korea are now in the community, the entire Friday-4 family started making kimchi (spicy and sour Korean pickles) in earnest under their supervision.
We were supposed to do it in front of Heung mi's house, but unfortunately it was raining, so we had to spread out in the kitchen, living room, and bathroom.



I went to Heung mi's house with Sarah, Umi, and Haru.
We found many vegetable containers from the farm at the front door.
Jin-chan and I moved the table out of the living room.
We spread out a sheet on the ground, which became a large space, and prepared cutting boards and knives.
It was very Korean! The feeling of the end of the year was starting to sink in.

Madoka-chan and Aya-chan were working under Jin-chan's guidance.
They started to prepare the dishes by carrying daikon radishes, Chinese cabbage, onions, etc. Takuya also came with a slicer and started to grind daikon radishes.
He is a regular preparer at Mum's Lunchbox company, so I guess he is good at what he does.



Heung mi and Jin-chan occasionally hold a meeting in Korean.
They are the ones who tell the gathered members of the Friday-4 family what to do.

Sara, 9 years old, wanted to help out right away, so she went to the kitchen to prepare food with Heung mi, looking at her sideways.
She looked just like she would at a children's school.
She was listening to Heung mi carefully. I think she was probably smacking garlic or something.

Haru and Umi played for a while, but then they decided they wanted to help.
Haru and I went to Kobayashi's house to get a kitchen knife for children.
Then Madoka-chan prepared the vegetables for Haru and Umi to cut.
...



It's like falling in love with Heung mi and Jinchan's dynamic moves.
Bang bang on the vegetables, kimchi seeds? Sauce? to the vegetables.
They mix them in, rub them in, and put them in a big bag.
They would ask everyone who came by, "Do you want to taste it?”
and throw them into their mouths. It's nostalgic.
Heung mi and Jinchan were trying to wash leafy greens outside, as if the kitchen was too small for them.
The sight of the two washing them outside was a sight to behold.
....


Soon after, the kimchi was fully pickled and put into the special refrigerator.
It is something that is passed down from person to person, from parent to child.
This kind of scene may become a year-end tradition in the community.



In every age, in every land, children simply entrust their lives to
To their society, to their community, to their parents, to their people.
That is why children can live with radiance, with purity and innocence.
If they could live through life as it is, it would be natural that there would be no doubt or caution.
If there is any resistance, they will enter a narrow and narrow tunnel. We mistakenly believe that such complicated things are life.
But I think that even adults are actually entrusting things to others.
No matter how much our consciousness resists, being alive is a manifestation of entrusting, and it is because we entrust that we are able to live.
When the reality of life and the reality of living become clearer, I think that the "resisting consciousness" will naturally dissipate. I wonder if we will be more inclined to entrust our lives to them. Just like that.
All living things entrust and entrust each other to live in this world and create a better tomorrow together. Microorganisms, plants, insects, animals, and humans are all exquisitely interrelated, in their own ways and at their own pace. Such a dynamic harmony of countless lives continues to flow through the veins. It is as if they are laughing at our selfish human thinking.
There is no such "blame" on each other.
A grain of me, a drop of community in the infinite.
But they are all connected.

Tomorrow is a new year.
What step shall we take?