That "A-Ha" Moment

One of the most exhilarating things about participating in the 88 Temples pilgrimage can also be one of the most frustrating. What will a day on the trail bring? People, places, weather, it’s all unpredictable. Planning may leave you lost. Adaptability is required.

Raindrops danced on our tent twice in the early morning, first at 2am and then again around 5am. Surprisingly when we opened the flap to the tent, it was to a heavy mist, not rain.

We gathered our things and walked them to a nearby gazebo where we packed away our gear. It would be another Joyfull morning as we headed to our favorite restaurant for breakfast.

The two and a half hour walk through Ozu City, was mostly wet and gray, however a kawaii (cute) group of young school kids, with bright yellow umbrellas bouncing in front of us, could put a smile on any wet pilgrims face.

By the time we got to Joyfull the rain was coming down hard. A troubling indication of what they rest of the day would bring. With our Joyfull drink bar bounty in front of us, we spent the next 90 minutes devising ways to not walk the pilgrimage on this day. We both agreed the conditions were not ideal for us.

It took about six hours for one local train, a rural bus and finally an expensive taxi ride to drop us off eight kilometers from Temple 44, Taihō-ji.

That short distance was the scariest we have traveled since leaving the gates of Ryōzen-ji, Temple One. It was cold and rainy as we walked busy Route 33 through narrow and curvy mountain roads. With no sidewalk, we shared the wet, slippery roadway with semis and cars. More than once a large truck would blast us with its noise and soak us with water. Both of us were in a foul mood by the time we checked into Garden Time Hotel.

In our room we had time to decompress and consider the day. With our clothes being laundered (for free) we invented a game that made us laugh and had an epiphany that gave us pause.

Our play involved animal crackers purchased at a local grocery store. The wild boar, pigeon, peafowl, tapir and other animals all shared a similar shape. They were round. We placed them face down and had to guess what name was written on the other side. If we identified correctly, we got to eat the cookie.

Our a-ha moment came when we realized that today we put in a lot of effort to make things easy for us. The end result was guilt and moodiness. We skipped another two pages of the trail. Pages that would have followed a turquoise mountain river and ascended lush forests. Instead our choices left us feeling empty.

We are here to participate in a pilgrimage and should accept all that it offers, not try to rearrange it to fit an ideal we have for it.

A-ha!

May 6, 2016 - Enroute to Temple 44