一期一会

I just got back from a 3 hour soccer practice! Soccer practice....In Japan.... My two favorite things mesh together so well!! X) This practice wasn't with my school team, however, I played with a local team of 11 and 12 year-olds that Josh's little brother is on! They welcomed me to their team so graciously, I had a great time at their practice! 

     So they were 12, and I was just a few years older than they were; they were also very small because they were still young....even so, soccer isn't a game about age! It does not matter how much older I was, soccer is soccer! I had a lot of fun at soccer practice with all of them!
    When the coach was giving his end-of-practice speech, he explained my favorite Japanese proverb to everyone: 一期一会. Ichigo Ichie translates to one life, one meeting. It means that in life, they is really no guarantee that you will be able to meet someone tomorrow, or the next day. Therefore, you must treasure meeting now with friends and strangers. The coach was explaining to the team how I'm from America, and how it was a lucky meeting that we could all play soccer together in Japan ((Granted, I was the lucky one to be welcomed so kindly, and I was incredibly humbled)). Then he said, "If we meet again in the future, possibly in America, great. Let's all play soccer together then. But because we do not know if this will happen....一期一会."   I was incredibly touched. This moment was incredibly important and this explanation of that proverb really put things into perspective.
    But you know what, that coach was absolutely right. Everyone in my life now, everyone in my life at home, I have no guarantee that we will be able to meet tomorrow, or the next day. Today is truly the only Today. Even if we meet again in the future, we will never meet again under these same conditions, good or bad. I think this is what I was trying to get at with those boys in my class that I was having issues with. The next day, after they had called me "gross foreigner" and "idiot," I started on a clean-slate with them and made sure to greet them with "good-morning." Because there is no guarantee of meeting again, so I want to be able to enjoy and treasure every moment now....ahh, anyway ._. I guess I've been doing some serious soul-searching in Japan....
    I feel like everyone I have met in Japan so far, I have met for a reason. They have all taught me so much, and this has been a really incredible life-changing experience. To everyone, I just want to say 本当にありがとうございます♥

~Jane Claire☆彡