{"id":4841,"date":"2018-10-27T20:42:26","date_gmt":"2018-10-27T11:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/?p=4841"},"modified":"2018-10-29T06:55:52","modified_gmt":"2018-10-28T21:55:52","slug":"symphony_comfort_compassion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/2018\/10\/27\/symphony_comfort_compassion\/","title":{"rendered":"A symphony of comfort and compassion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Some facts. October 21. A two-day hike up and down Mt. Kobushi (2475 m) from Mokidaira (1433 meters). Distance going up along the Chikuma River, about 7 km, coming down via Mt. Sampo and Mt. Oyama, a bit farther. The trailhead, by car from Shizuoka, about three hours.<\/p>\n

The Chikuma Trail is maybe the easiest trail I’ve walked going up any of the “Famous 100 Mountains of Japan.” It only took us about 4 hours to the top, and that was with me taking 634 pictures—and a leisurely lunch.<\/p>\n

The trail takes you past the headwaters of the Chikuma River, known downstream as the Shinano River—the longest river in Japan.\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

So here you are. Last week you were in the Alps hoping to see the yellow larches up against a blue sky—but the skies were overcast.<\/p>\n

Now you’ve crossed the parking lot and stepped onto the mountain trail—and the skies . . . well, not a hint of grey anywhere.<\/p>\n

\"\"You can feel yourself stepping into another world, into a world of color, into a big warm room filled with love.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Yes, yes, you don’t think about it—your lips just do <\/em>curl up.<\/p>\n

\"\"You come to a shrine. Right on the trail.<\/p>\n

\"\"Inside you meet Jizo-san. He’s about 10 cm tall. But it doesn’t matter how tall he is. It only matters the expression on his face. What a sweet, comforting compassionate fellow he is! How at ease he makes you feel. You put your hands together. You hope maybe, somehow, that you can repay the favor. Sometime, somehow.\"\"<\/p>\n

And this day you feel truly blessed.\"\"<\/p>\n

Because this day you can believe that each and every one of the beautiful leaves is a little Jizo-san.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A symphony of comfort and compassion in yellow, blue, red, and orange.<\/p>\n

\"\"The river rolls on . . . water so pure.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You can’t help it. You feel giddy.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

You can see a young girl sitting at a piano, all nerves. You can remember how you loved the tears that welled in your eyes.
\n\"\"Maybe you’ll even see that girl turn a cartwheel twirl.<\/p>\n

\"\"And it’s all right to feel joy.
\n\"\"It’d be hard not to.
\n\"\"You’ve felt the light through the trees . . .
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

. . . and primary colors are the most primary matters.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And yes, it’s true each leaf has its own voice. A Jizo’s voice.
\n\"\"Recognize each leaf’s equal worth—and\u00a0everything\u00a0<\/em>becomes easier.\u00a0Everything\u00a0<\/em> begins to make sense.
\n\"\"And the river rolls on.<\/p>\n

\"\"If you come to a stack of rocks, go ahead and put one on yourself. It might be a light for the next person who comes along.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Up,\u00a0 up you go—but you’re amazed by how gentle the trail seems today.<\/p>\n

\"\"And up ahead. What’s that?<\/p>\n

\"\"Why it’s the larch tree\/blue sky combo you were looking for last week!\"\"<\/p>\n

You pass the headwaters, the trail turns up into a fir forest, but you haven’t got much farther to go. Before you know it you’re on the ridge . . .<\/p>\n

\"\". . . and you’ve got a completely different view.
\n\"\" And there you are on the summit!<\/p>\n

Otsukaresama deshita.<\/em>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some facts. October 21. A two-day hike up and down Mt. Kobushi (2475 m) from Mokidaira (1433 meters). Distance going up along the Chikuma River, about 7 km, coming down via Mt. Sampo and Mt. Oyama, a bit farther. The trailhead, by car from Shizuoka, about three hours. The Chikuma Trail is maybe the easiest … Continue reading A symphony of comfort and compassion<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4841"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4876,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4841\/revisions\/4876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}