Last month I took a long overdue trip to Japan. I was an exchange student to Japan in the 80’s and stayed with an amazing family! They took me in as their own from day one and we have continued to stay in contact since that time. My stay with them influenced my major at college and I returned there after graduation to work for three years. For almost 10 years I would go back every other year to visit. Last year I realized five years had passed since I had been back there. I asked Spirit when I should go and the answer I got was next year (2014). This year I would think about going, but it never felt like the right time. At the beginning of September, I started to feel the urge to go back. I contacted my Japanese family and friends to see if I could spend some time with them. I got the ok from everyone, so I started looking at getting a ticket using my frequent flyer miles. I was dismayed to find that I would have to use most of my remaining miles for a ticket, which I didn’t want to do. I tried different options, but nothing was working. With a heavy heart, I let my family and friends know that I wouldn’t be coming to visit.
Two weeks later I started seeing 747 a lot. Flying to Japan, I always fly on a 747, so I started wondering… Hmmmm! A week passed and then in one day I saw 747 three times. You would think I know by now to pay attention, that Spirit is sending me signs. Oh no! I didn’t do anything. The next day I was sitting at an outdoor café with a friend and was stung on the foot by a yellow jacket! I’ve been battling yellow jackets all summer around my house and hadn’t been stung once. Now I’m just sitting, minding my own business and get stung. Ok, now I’m listening! I went home and looked up yellow jackets in my spirit animals book. A few of the messages resonated with me, but the one that stood out for me was to break out of my routine and do something completely different from what I would normally do. I went on-line and looked at tickets again. I immediately found a ticket that required half the points of the ticket I looked at earlier in the month! A week later I was on a 747 headed to Japan!
My trip was awesome in so many ways and at times felt like a dream! I saw my family and friends and had a great time with them! I met my friend’s five year old son for the first time. He so lives in the moment and was an inspiration for me to do the same. The rest of the trip I just went with the flow and found myself enjoying Japan in a way I never had before! My Japanese was very rusty and usually I’m very self conscious about it. This time, I spoke as much as I could and didn’t give up easily, even when I was struggling to say something. My family and friends know about my abilities and I was curious about what I would experience there. I did some healing work with everyone, including my friend’s son, who asked me to please heal him! That was so cute! I also had people who have passed on come forward at each place I stayed. One of my host sisters passed away 13 years ago. She has come forward in a dream and while I have been meditating. One night she made an appearance while I was watching TV with my Japanese mom. I knew it would be emotional for my mom to talk about it, but I let her know my sister was there. I told her the messages that my sister gave me and it turned out to be a wonderful thing! My mom opened up and shared the things she had been holding inside of her all these years. It was a great conversation and when we finished her energy had changed! She felt lighter! It’s those kinds of moments that really keep me passionate about what I do! I also spent time with two other friends and their families. They both have daughters who remember me a little bit, so it was great to reconnect with them! I started a new hobby called goshuin. My friend’s mom bought me a book that you take to shrines and temples and someone there will write in calligraphy the name of the place, the date and some other stuff. They then stamp it with the shrine’s or temple’s stamps. That was a lot of fun and something I can continue doing each time I go back! It’s also a nice record of the places I have been. My friend’s daughter even started doing it after she saw my book!
I know the timing was right for this trip because everything went so smoothly! There were even two typhoons that came through Japan while I was there. That may sound like a bad thing and initially I thought so too because they were the strongest ones of the year. However… they both blew through during the night, so I ended up sleeping through them and woke up the next morning like nothing had happened! The only thing that happened was a rock slide on the railroad tracks that forced me to take a slight detour and added four hours on to my trip to my parent’s house. Even that wasn’t bad because I enjoyed the scenery along the way!
One of my best memories of the trip was my morning walks with my mom. The first morning I went for a walk by myself and explored the neighborhood. Things have changed a lot and I challenged myself to find my way around. The next morning I asked my mom if she wanted to join me. She did and we ended up walking every morning together after that. She is really good at growing flowers and plants, so each walk was a lesson in the names of the different flowers, plants and trees we saw along the way. I think she was also inspired to try growing some new stuff next year! So in honor of my mom, I have included pictures of nature that I took on the trip. It’s a good reminder to stop and smell, or at least admire the beauty of, the flowers and nature. It gets you into the moment, which is what it’s all about anyway! Thank you to my 
beautiful family and friends for your hospitality! I am so grateful that we have stayed connected over the years. When I first went to Japan I never dreamed that all of this would come out of me staying one summer there! I hope that we can see each other again soon! またね！♥
