March 11, 2010
Memories of Japan
For most people, the suggestion of visiting Japan generates thoughts of excitement for the coolest gadgets, ambrosial food, urbane art and delicate culture. For the past 7 years, the idea of visiting Japan loomed over my head, an imminent event that I had to bring myself to plan and execute.
7 years ago, back when I could still answer to 陶喆 (David Tao)’s song – 22, I had an epic journey in Yokosuka, Japan. My Japan experience was the pinnacle of my youth. Needless to say, no other experience will ever quite be like Japan, even subsequent trips to Japan.
The purpose of my trip in February 2010 was a fairly significant one. On the simple side, I wanted to see old friends and places. One the more convoluted side, I needed to ‘let go’ of Japan, or rather ‘let go’ of my youth, in order to progress into the new stage in my life.
To make things all the more difficult, I have a great memory for things like people and events. As I age, I feel as if I am becoming borg-esque. My mind is becoming a mass hive of memories, not just my own, but a hard drive saving data passed from the people around me. My hard drive allows me to relive moments, frame by frame, making it hard for me to move on from the past and live in the present.
During my trip, I got to see many old sites, which surprisingly look the same as I left it. Even more surprisingly, I felt no sadness in seeing old times pass away, but felt a joy in understanding that the past remains the past. As if by serendipity, I came upon the following quote from Michael Pollan’s book ‘Botany of Desire’ discussing the art of forgetting which was especially germane to my trip – ‘For it is by forgetting that we ever drop the thread of time and approach the experience of living in the present moment, so elusive in ordinary hours’.
My biggest takeaway from Japan was not all the neat household items, but the realization that forgetting is just what I needed to move away from the shadows of the past, whether it be sad or joyful.
