Epiphanies in a Cemetery

Just like that, 11 days have flown by and tomorrow we depart Tokyo for Taipei. 

Speaking about time, do you ever think about death? I think about it all the time, not in a morbid way, but constantly asking myself: if I die in the next minute, will my life have been worth living? 

Today we visited Nezu Shrine and the Yanaka Cemetery. Wasn't even planned (much like anything on this trip), we just decided to go to that area and Google recommended these places. I don't think I've ever walked past so many dead bodies - luckily they were underground and very buried - and yet feel such a soothing feeling in my heart. Given, it was broad daylight, perhaps if the sun had set it would have been a very different story LOL. 

The Japanese bury and glorify their dead by giving them a beautiful environment to rest after death. Names and blessings highlight each red column in the Edo-period Shinto shrine, as well as the stone walls surrounding the main temple. As I walked beneath the pseudo tunnel, it seemed as if the blessings were being blown my way by a sudden gust of wind. 

At that moment I thought: For when you do not resist death, at the same time you celebrate life. Just like all love has hate, all life has death. Without death there is no life, and without life there is no death. Wow I feel so zen. 

The wind seemed to be telling me, life is fleeting and short, live it as happily and meaningfully as you can. With every column I passed, and every blessing I absorbed, I felt so much at peace. I have more dreams I want to achieve, and many more things I want to experience, but at that moment nothing mattered more than the present. Just me, the wind, and the peaceful spirits.