2021/10/14

I thought about Joni Mitchell’s song. The song is “Both Sides, Now”, which is known as the translated title “The Light and Shadow of Youth” in Japan. For example, the clouds are the things that have nice figures like ice creams in the sky. But the clouds are also the things that fall rain upon us. That dual nature is the character of the cloud. Life is the same and it has good points and bad points… The song tells us such a profound truth. This philosophical lyric fits me sweetly. Everything or everyone can be seen as they have various goodness and badness. And they might be paradoxical.

R.E.M. sang the song “Losing My Religion”, which tells us like this. “Oh, life is bigger, it’s bigger than you”. Exactly, In y opinion, life is total chaos that what can happen the next time when I look back to my past days. Shinji Miyadai, a popular Japanese sociologist said “The world is basically nonsense”. Life goes beyond my (or our) tiny mind(s) and shows unbelievable stories. Oh… this happiness. I met the people who treat me preciously, and I also have thought that I should treat them preciously. This fact itself is a miracle. So don’t give up. I just rely on the “nonsense” the world has or the “bigness” of my life.

I tried to read Syouhei Ohoka’s “Seijyo Press” but got too sleepy. Recently, I get sleepy early at night. I might return this book although I won’t able to read it completely. If I have read “Seijyo Press”, what book should be the next? I will read Souseki Natsume’s “Mei-an”. People say I have read a lot of books. No way, it has randomness and I have not read books “all-round”. I have read books with the guidance of my inner voice, so reading is like praying. Very personal task.

I want to write the difference between English and Japanese. As Yoshio Kataoka is doing, I want to collect the cases which show how English and Japanese are different that make me strange. and I want to write about them. I like thinking about that kind of difference, and this might be because I have read Wittgenstein. Language and communication… Why I say “today’s meal was good!” and my foreign friends say “it must be yummy!” even they haven’t eaten it (especially Japanese foods). I should make index cards and follow Yoshio Kataoka’s manner. Strike while the iron is hot…?