A favorite quote of mine says “a writer is the only one who gets to relive the experience twice.” This past month has given me the opportunity to relive my year in Kyoto, Japan while writing an article for an upcoming print publication. This week it was exciting to see the article before going into the October issue.
Enjoy the article by opening a browser link.
View from the Road
Each morning I wake up between 5:30 and 6 and walk into my kitchen to see this. I no longer need an alarm. The sun and the birds wake me from my dreams. It seems that no matter what is happening in the world or what my minimal challenges may be, this sets everything right.
And so I share it with you.
Field Notes
Sunday Morning in Ciudad Colōn
Sitting in the park
on a Sunday morning
in Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica
I have enjoyed my breakfast
at the nearby soda
where they know me by now
Gallo pinto, huevos, queso frito
cafe con leche
mi favorita , 3,000 colones
Sundays are quiet in the park
tranquilo
I can hear the singing
of hymns
from the nearby church
the saints are inside
I am in the park
a handful of Ticos
lounge and drink cerveza
smoking cigarettes
on the nearby benches
the smell of beans and rice
fills the air
as lunch is being prepared
in the food stalls and cafes
a little girl eating ice cream
a family taking a picture
the breeze moving through the trees
a bus full of locals passes by
perhaps people heading to work
I am just here
observing it all
lost in the moment
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Zen and Ink Journals represents hundreds of hours of writing over the past decade, sometimes from a train in remote China or a coffee shop in Kyoto, a hammock in Costa Rica or a simple cabin on a mountain in Boquete, Panama.
Zen and Ink Journals is a simple offering of words in the hope of inspiring others to a simpler, more mindful way of life in these chaotic times. I invite you along each month on the journey for a glimpse of the larger world, reflections on living more simply and quietly amidst the chaos of our modern world.
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Kirk