About the aim

Lately I’m thinking a lot about the aims we have in front of us, our physical or mental eye. Before I left Japan, my first Kyudo sensei, Tsuzui-sensei, from Tokoyama Dojo gave me a couple of advices. One was, that I shouldn’t mind whether I hit the target or not. I should only concentrate on the technique, on what I’m doing and if this is right, I will hit the target anyway. In other words, I should mind the way, not the target.

As it is with words sometimes, you forget them and you remember them. Some other time. Besides the times, when I was back in Dresden, I heard the words of my German teacher first and remembered finally the words of the old teacher from Japan. I think they came back to me, because I was missing a teacher for Kyudo in Australia and my mind was trying to educate itself by remembering things it once had learned.

It’s a strange thing with the aim. I keep records of my hits and misses, which doesn’t make it easier for me. Even though I try not to think about the aim I will count hits and misses in my head: one hit, one hit one miss, one hit two misses – I have to hit now – and there it is again. The thinking about the aim and the forgetting about the way. It’s with so many things in life: we forget to remember other things on our way to our goal, our personal targets, things we want to achieve. Since we don’t care the way we walk, we miss a big opportunity: every single path we step on is a trail, is time, we can use to complete our self; master our self. The aim is nothing. You can not even fix it in time. It is not before you have not released the arrow and it is gone as soon as it has hit the target. A tiny moment, gone and you have to go on. Next arrow, and forget about the last one. Sometimes you can’t forget it and you live in the past, forgetting the present. If you only mind the aim, you will only walk from tiny moments to tiny moments, but if you concentrate on your way, our aim becomes every moment, and every moment you might become better in it. Mistakes will help you a lot. And the time might come, that I don’t need to think about the aim any more, that I will just go the right way, always hitting.

remembering: Tokuyama Dojo. Photo taken by Charlie Chayatan.

My last days in Australia

2012-01-01

 

I’m terrible sorry that I update my blog about my last days with Machi in Australia so late, but as everyone can possibly imagine were my first days in Germany, Christmas, and New Years Eve pretty busy.

After I returned from Canberra I just tried to finish my studies for my diploma thesis as much as possible and at the same time enjoyed more and more the time with my friends, who are mostly exchange students as well. I barely missed a coffee brake but at the same time pushed my self at night in front of the computer to get some results. Which I luckily did.

Machi came over 10 days before I was supposed to fly to Canberra, in the last week of November. I was so happy that she was there: she helped me a lot. She even came over to Uni for lunch and brought self cooked food for both of us. Yes, I didn’t want to miss 2 weeks Uni, since I definitely didn’t want to do anything in my time in Canberra, so I decided to go to Uni at least 4-5 hours a day. Most evenings we met friends for farewell dinners. Serge, Javi, Suhel and Dexter for a BBQ; Helen, Alan and Co. for a lovely dinner, and Baden with Steph, a last weekend in the Adelaide Hills with a beautiful reunion with Freiya, who just came from the Philippines, moon light cinema with Natasha and Chris – there were not enough evenings to say goodbye to everyone and the day came, the 5^th of December, when I left for the last time my apartment with Machi and check in at the Airport in Adelaide. 

Byebye in the Adeliade Hills

What we just did in Adelaide repeated itself in Canberra, when we said goodbye to Machis and my friends there: Ally and Rob, Andrew and Sue, Kara and Benn, and many more. We had a tearful goodbye with Machis flatmate Tairyn on the day when we moved out of Machis apartment and took a bus to Sydney, at the 9^th of December. 

Farewell "coffee" with Dao and Tairyn

We checked in a hostel in Kings Cross, Sydney, right at the train station. Our room was above the subway gangway and when we left the room we could watch people walking from or to the trains. I think it is normal that you don’t go for to many new things on your last 2 days when a 3 month goodbye faces you; though we had a big walk on the first day around the opera and Harbour Bridge and completed our souvenir shopping. Something new we didn’t discover on your first trip to Sydney was Bondi beach, where we went on our last day. Unfortunately did Machi lose her camera, or more precise – I did, since I was carrying the bag and I felt terrible. The waves were strong on that day and we gave up searching after while since I was probably walking in the ocean when I lost it. Machi was brave and forgot soon about it. We had an amazing dinner in a Thai restaurant in Kings Cross and went to bed early, since we wanted to wake up at 3 o’clock in the morning.

Sydney - Harbour

 

The rest of the story you know – and what is left to do would be a reflection of my 9 month stay in South Australia. It still works in me and I think I took a lot with me to Germany: more of ‘don’t care about what other think’, more ‘milk tea’, more ‘enjoy’; shortly: more Australian lifestyle and this is something I really mean in a positive way and I feel more and more every day I live in Germany.

I think I might change the Blog – I want to concentrate more on smaller things in my daily life and might report about those. Till March about Germany, from April about Japan again, since my flight is booked for the 20^th of March. I can’t wait to meet Machi again. I just need to get done with Uni here.