Non doing?

I translated this piece this morning. Had an insight about how Wakako behaves in the world. Is this what the Taoists mean by non doing, and all will be done?

"I did an exhibition in Tokyo, then another gallery owner came by and saw it and then said, 'Hey, why not do an exhibit at our gallery?' Then 'Why not at our gallery?' Then here, then there…"

She's laughing almost flushed and embarrassed, and it occurs to me that she's being carried along with the people around her, kind of like an empty center, without that much will. It's not "I want to exhibit," not "I am an artist," just events and situations naturally emerging, coming together.

Also Matt, my interpreter friend, told me a few nights ago that actually "kokucho" isn't just "black swan" but "national bird." Now Wakako's story makes sense. It's about the crested ibis being reimported back into Japan from China. They've destroyed nature so much that the very national bird had died out!

No subsitute for actually having native Japanese speakers consult with you. (Yes, Matt is a native speaker.)

Keep blog posts short Andy!

Re-entering the territory

Today I have re-started the process by which many of these articles were made: listening to the recording, rewinding, listening, typing mixed notes in Japanese and English, and adding occasional reflections. It is SLOW. So different than freewriting in the workshops I lead. Yet as I extol slowness and non-efficiency-driven processes, it is right that I should practice them.

Today was work on Wakako Oe. She is a philosopher. Yes, gardener, woodcarver, maker of botanical sculptures, translator of the writings of Indian saints, with her husband Masanori, but below that, a philosopher. Today I translated, her words " 'To disconnect from the flow of time,' what is that?"

She lets her conversation roll out contemplatively, recreating the experience of thought, the slow turning over of ideas.

"Just recently, I thought, hmm, the flow of time is the flow of consciousness. You see in your everyday life, all different kinds of consciousness is flowing, isn't it? So when that consciousness suddenly changes, and you become aware of something else, it's like going to another place. So when you think you are in the middle of the flow of time, actually you are in the middle of the flow of your own consciousness."


Also I found an old document that gives an overview of what the project is about. Some things there I discovered: "choosing of restraint in consumption of resources, but not for moral reason, but because the act of limiting actually enriches each moment of life."