End of the year contemplations: Connection through Creations, Timeless form of Gratitude, and Doors to Happiness

These are some of my contemplations as the Gregorian Calendar year ends. I chose these because these were the ones that left strong emotions and gave deep insights in my life. All of these things that I shall write are born out of my experience and observations through the lenses of my soul.

Connection through Creations

As with many people, I carry a mobile device that allows me to send a message anywhere, anytime, and to anyone instantly. When I receive one, I can choose to reply immediately or later because I know that I can send one instantly anyway. The problem is, along those lines, the effort, the emotions, the thoughts lose importance and weight. Convenience has taken over our intention of giving proper time and effort to convey what we have to convey. In some cases, since we have already taken for granted the depth of communication, we worry over not being able to communicate for a short while. We worry over being "disconnected" with anyone and this happens most often with our current partner or family. I even experienced this anxiety of not being able to communicate or talk with someone even though I badly wanted to talk with her. I was frustrated with the distance and difference in the rhythm of work and lifestyle. I felt "disconnected" at one point but I realized immediately that this "disconnection" is illusory.

The concept that we are connected through electronic devices and social networking services is illusory. Our true connection lies more deeply, deeper than the deepest part of the ocean. Our true connection goes beyond the farthest star yet it is so close, we need only close our eyes and breathe.

I simply have to touch the ground where I am standing and I am already connected with that person. 

I simply have to breathe in air and I am already breathing the same ethers as that person. 

I simply have to drink water and I am already drinking the same water as that person.

Within me is the cosmos from which the Earth was made, and the same is true for that person.

This is our true connection. Through the Creations we are bound together yet our Creativity is boundless.

Timeless form of Gratitude

Most often, we say thank you once we receive something. We feel gratitude only after something happened, whether it be good or bad. This is one form of gratitude that we feel almost every day. This year, I have countless things that I have to be grateful for. I am grateful for all the experiences, all the people I met, all the Love I received, all the happiness people shared with me, all the pains and suffering I went through, all the things that did not happen. There is also a gratitude that is directed towards the future. We are grateful for the blessings, the good tidings that will come next year. Even the bad things that may happen, we are still grateful for them for they will lead to better things. 

Feelings of gratitude born from the past and future are all well and good but there is another form of gratitude that goes beyond the past and the future. This gratitude is a gratitude that is not directed to anyone or anything. You are not merely thankful for the things that have happened or will happen. You are no longer expecting anything, you are no longer bound to the past. You are simply thankful. The gratitude becomes so vast and empty that you can only smile and utter nothing. I experienced this feeling once while I was working the field. I took a break and sought shelter from the strong sun and sat on a piece of log lying nearby. There was a big fir tree in front of me and I looked at it. It's the same tree that I have been looking at for months but somehow that day, that moment, it looked different. There was a certain energy it was releasing or maybe I was the one directing it towards the tree and it is simply reflecting it. I do not really know. I cannot define it clearly in words but I caught myself smiling, and tears were running down my cheeks. I felt so happy, there was a deep gratitude that I cannot explain. I was not grateful to anyone or anybody, I did not even know what I was thankful for. I was just filled with utter gratitude and joy that I cannot stop myself from smiling. I just tried to put it in words as "timeless gratitude" but these actually do not suffice as a worthy definition of the experience. There is no explanation enough to express what I felt and I think it needs to be experienced rather than explained.

Doors to Happiness

There is no door to happiness. You can drop all your luggage, cancel all your travel plans, and stop yourself from walking further.

There is no door to happiness. 

The road you are standing on, the path you are on right now IS happiness. 

There is no seeking needed. 

There is no soul-searching needed. 

The more you seek, the more you are losing. 

Many trust the teaching that you should be happy for what you have because many people do not have it such as food, shelter, and clothing. This is true and we should indeed trust this teaching but I will also add something to it. Be happy for what you do not have. Many people carry burdens that need not be carried. This is true for many politicians and big businesses. They have too much that the happiness brought by material wealth is overburdened by the stress and fear that go with it. They indeed have material wealth but they also have the fear of losing it. 

True happiness in my experience is a balance of what you have and what you do not have. Standing in the middle of the path, the good and the bad is equilibrated and you experience Peace and Happiness. You are no longer happy just for those things you have but you are also happy for what you do not have. Through the clarity and pureness of your perspective, you become more aware of what you need to let go and what you need to hold, then you attain balance. 

This is the road of happiness, and through co-arising, the road of happiness is also the road of peace, joy, and love. 

Amen.

"Live your Life as if you are carrying a baby in your arms- not too tight for the baby might suffocate, not too loose for the baby might fall." 

(Photo taken at Teshikaga Town, Hokkaido, Japan)

Shipping Container Tiny House Part 1: Reasons for building a tiny house, Container inspection, Condensation Problems

Winter Project Number 1 will now commence! As soon as I got back from my pilgrimage to Nara, I immediately went to our land to make some inspections on the shipping container that I will convert into a tiny house. Before anything else, I would like to share the reasons why I decided to build a tiny house.

What is a tiny house?

First of all, what is a tiny house? Simply put, a tiny house is a house smaller than the normal houses and usually these tiny houses are built on trailers and renovated shipping containers. There is already a tiny house movement going on around the world. Since the tiny house is built on trailers or shipping containers, they usually require no city permit to build no building tax. This is also an alternative lifestyle to minimize waste, consumerism, and move towards a more ecological and sustainable lifestyle. 

Living in a big house requires a lot of energy!

Cooling, heating, lighting, and regular maintenance of a large house requires a lot of energy. I am now living in a house for one family and the amount of wood I am using to heat the house is more than I anticipated. The house also has poor insulation so all the heat simply dissipates away to the roof and walls! A tiny house requires smaller energy for heating and with proper insulation, heating the house will be more efficient. 

Live in my own Land!

Building my dream house will require meticulous designing and since I have no professional experience in building a house, it will take a lot of time. So, in the meantime, I wanted to live in a tiny house while slowly building my dream house. I am still renting a house in a nearby house so I had to drive back and forth to my land. I wanted to live in my own land as soon as possible so as soon as I wake up, I can immediately see how my land looks. 

Future Guest, Volunteer, Staff House

When I was looking for a land, I volunteered at different farms and lived in different conditions. I experienced some living quarters with no toilet, no bathroom, no heating, no privacy, and some have one of these or a combination of these. It was a great experience for me to be grateful for whatever I have right now and I realized that living is really supposed to be very simple. So, for my future guests, volunteer, or staff, I wanted to provide a better living quarters than what I have experienced. So, after I finished building my dream house, I can allow volunteers and guests to live in this tiny house and experience living simply with all the needed facilities. 

Shipping Container Inspection

The shipping container is a nominal one (8ft wide, 8 ft 6 in high, 20 ft long; 2.44m wide, 2.59m high, 6.1m long). How the heck can we live in such a small space?! Well, the answer is, we can. With compact design, less possessions, and creative thinking, we can. The shipping container has about 2 to 3 inches of insulation(glass wool). There was already an electric connection from the grid which saved me a lot of work! This was used as a place to rest by the previous owner.

Emptying this place is going to be a big job!

Upon further inspection of the container, I noticed a wet spot on the ceiling with some rotten wood around it. I was worried that there may be a leak on the roof so I removed the ceiling on the part where the ceiling was rotting and lo and behold, rat poop rained all over!

Glass wool with sprinkles of rat poop

The glass wool was a perfect haven for field mice- it's warm, fluffly, and humid. So, the number of job increased! I now have to remove the ceiling, replace the insulation, and rewire the electric connections! I looked closely at the walls too and noticed some wet spots as well. When there are wet spots on the wall, one highly possible problem is condensation.

Condensation Problems

Imagine a cold glass of water in a warm room. You will start to notice droplets of water forming on the surface of the glass, this is condensation. When warm air and cold air meets on a surface, the difference in the temperature causes the water vapor to condense on the surface. In tropical countries this is not a big problem because there is no big difference in room and outside temperature but in cold climates, during winter, because the house is heated and the outside air is cold, the wall becomes the condensation surface. This problem occurs especially when there is no insulation on the walls. Insulation acts as a barrier between the warm air inside and the cold air outside. Venting, or air exchange between inside and and outside is also critical to prevent condensation.

Wet walls due to condensation on the metal container walls

Condensation on walls becomes a problem when the wood starts to rot. This becomes a habitat for insects and pests such as rats. Molds also grow resulting to poor air quality. The number of job again increased! I have to remove the rotten wall panels, place a proper insulation, and reframe the walls and panels.

A few days into this project and I can already see the project taking longer than planned. I learned from a carpenter that after planning a building project, multiply the amount of time and budget by 1.5 times and this will be a good estimate. Along the way, for sure there will be unexpected problems that will cost time and money. 

Now, onto deconstruction!

A Letter to my Co-Creator

To my Dearest Co-Creator,

I pray this message reaches you in high spirits and in Love and Peace. I am writing this 
letter publicly so that you and everyone whose hearts are both open and slowly opening 
will be able to read this and bring joy to their hearts.

Presently, you are physically not in my presence but I still wanted to write this in the Present moment for two reasons. Firstly, my heart was simply moved to write one and secondly, I wanted to share this feeling to everyone who is currently seeking their co-creators or even those who have found them.

I wanted you to know that I have finally found the land- the land where we shall co-create a bright family in the Presence of Creations. I am now starting to build the homestead, clearing the land, planting trees, and right now, I am slowly renovating a shipping container into a tiny house. I know building this homestead will take time and money, but I also have that figured out! Right now, I am earning some money from the company my family owns, but to slowly be financially independent, I will be growing mushrooms on logs. I have many things planned so that the money comes in naturally while we would enjoy working on our own land and building the homestead.

Besides building the homestead, I am also building myself one mindful step at a time. Each moment, I try to live mindfully so that I am always aware that within me, my ancestors and my future descendants are living already. Each food, sights, sounds, and air that go inside my body, I am aware that even my ancestors, my descendants are feeling these as well. I am now more mindful of each nutriment that I take in. Sometimes, though, I eat unhealthy foods, listen to music that waters seeds of aggression within me, but I am trying my best to slowly do away with these. I am sure though, that everyday, I grow mindfully one step at a time.

Maybe right now, you are somewhere building yourself as well. Maybe right now, you are caught up in the conditioned world and still unaware of my Presence. Maybe right now, you are going through great suffering in your life. Maybe right now, you are very happy with what you are doing. Maybe right now, you are slowly awakening, finding your way through the dark, guided by a small light. Maybe right now, you are just under my nose and I am not noticing! (give me a big kick at the knee if that's the case!) All these assumptions are not actually needed because I am sure that with each day, each moment, we are moving forward and flowing with the great unfolding of Life! Paths that need to merge will merge. 

I am not in a hurry to meet you but surely, I am very excited! I simply wanted you to know that I am doing fine and slowly building this homestead. Although I do have one request. Can you please arrive sooner? lol! I want you to see how the place is changing, I want us to design where to plant trees together, I want us to build the house together! There are many things that we can co-create as this place is being built. So, maybe you can arrive a day earlier than the day we are supposed to meet? lol!

Take your time, love yourself, build yourself, be at peace with yourself first. Love the people around you, love your family, love everyone! So that when we start this co-creation, we can love more people! You are doing well in Life. 

I am both waiting and moving on in Life. Many may say waiting is not good, but I think there is an error in this. Waiting is good as long as you are moving on and doing what you love in Life as well. Waiting idly and constantly worrying is not good.

It took eons for this beautiful Earth to manifest, so waiting eons for you to manifest while doing what I love is not a bad idea at all!

See you soon!

With all the Love, Peace, and Joy,

Satoshi

The Stars have aligned for this beautiful Creation to manifest and soon, the stars will again align for another Co-Creation to happen