Road Less Travelled

When starting life's journey, it is a rare case where a conscious decision is made to lead life in what many would consider to be the hard road.

Coming to Japan in 1987 was an easy choice, as at 23, staying in the security of a government J.O.B. would have only lead to a lifetime trapped inside this all-too-real acronym—Just Over Broke.

The novelty of an exotic Japan wore off after 8 months, where ΩNE experienced a bout of homesick just once, and where the hard road then came into full view.

Nothing like the stark realization of having become deaf and dumb, as well as illiterate, having moved to a country in which the communication system is vastly more complex than the familiarity of the English alphabet soup.

The Japanese reading quest at first seemed insurmountable, but as life marched on, the radicals (separate components making up complete characters), became uncannily familiar as a matter of casual observation.

Nothing quite like the subconscious (Lady Muse) guiding the journey in some sort of mystical way to satori (enlightenment)—in this case, via the hard road, which must be peppered with fortitude and perseverance forging ΩNE into the material sludge world.

A Universal Truth to be internalized and called upon when the going gets tough, as it always will—it does not matter how slow you go, so long as you do not stop.

Words to live by when the hard road looks like it may be ending at the beginning of a life precipice, and this is exactly where the hard road leads—ultimately to the optimal state of being—serenity, wisdom, and civility.

A perfect example of the hard road would be a three-day water-fast—resetting the biological batteries of life, mitochondria—where in a mere 72 hours, the human spirit runs a full gamut of emotion, as well as feeling throbbing pangs of hunger, burning in the belly, which is merely an extension of the human mind.

Acts such as these, challenge and improve ΩNE's own life, sacrificing and persevering, which naturally sets up a definitive field of energy—inevitably leading to a more meaningful life experience—for no one has ever said at the end of the ephemeral life—wish I had spent more time at the company desk filling in someone else's dream.

By virtue of living in Japan, the hard road has also facilitated encounters with an eclectic cast of characters, and like most things in life, these encounters are ephemeral and mostly forgotten—except for a rare few.

As happenstance would have it, he who is only known as Tesla, came to the Land Of The Rising Son, and joined a business venture for a trio of years.

Quite the critter, after the project he then faded away—that is until—re-entered the atmosphere like a lightning bolt from the pristine clear blue sky.

Always ΩNE who loves giving and getting gifts, there was an unscheduled delivery from a large-scale on-line book retailer, and this curious recipient then proceeded to unpackaged this mystery order.

Delightfully surprised, a serendipitous timely arrival of an important book which actually served as a critical lifeline, during time of uncertainty and doubt.

The Road Less Travelled is a timeless classic, explaining what the hard road entails and how to get from here to there.

Life becomes more natural when boundaries are in place, and remaining in your spirit is the almighty notion of tough unconditional love.

Besides boundaries, this seminal example of how to navigate the nooks and crannies of life, unpacks mental illness, something that affects everyone's life at one point, for certain here in the modern world.

Truly, due to the nature of the evolution of the Japanese, problems are swept away, and dark secrets are to be hidden away under lock and key.

As Morgan Scot Peck pointed out at the beginning of this life-guide—the tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis for all human mental illness.

Known as masters of discipline, perhaps the Japanese can relate to the primary four disciplines as described by a seminal Occxie psychiatry professor, speaking from the grave as he passed away in 2005.

In the topsy-turvy modern world, clarity about how to live life, and the meaning of success is accompanied by a strict set of rules.

1: delay gratification

2: accept responsibility

3: dedication to truth

4: balance

It is through experience and maturation where the capacity to see the world and our place in it, essentially allows us to realistically determine our innate responsibility for ourselves and the greater world.

Such changes do not come without revving up ONE's mental capacity, and the understanding that clinging to an outmoded view of reality is the foundation for mental illness.

This may pose a conundrum for the Japanese, as their culture and society are built up on hone and tatemae—the constructed reality to which everybody pays lip service—and this is a particularly sticky complication the Japanese face.

In the light of the massive looming mental health crisis in Japan—the following is critical to understand—mental health is an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs.

Really, who is up for never-ending stringent self-examination, if so, welcome to the meaning of life—the Beginning of Infinity—the hard road.