Daily Yamabushi

We all need a mountain.

We all need something to climb on the regular, something to keep us on our toes.

When the time comes to climb a tough mountain, and it will come, those with practice fare better.

The more you climb, the better you fare.

We all need a mountain.

Only those who have experienced it would know what it feels like, but there is a noticeable gap between using a language for yourself, and using it to support communication between others.

When you’re learning a new language, I highly recommend trying to translate not only for yourself, but for other people as well. In other words, instead of exclusively focusing on what you want to say, also think about how you would portray the messages of others.

Other people use language that you never would, so this ensures a broader language base to work with, meaning you are exposed to words you otherwise wouldn’t be, while also giving you practice of the language in a realistic setting with usable skills built in.

It is really noticeable when you don’t give your all to a project, either because the project doesn’t turn out the way you expected (i.e. worse), or because it does and you wish you could have done more.

Even projects you find hard to get around to provide things to learn. If you find yourself procrastinating or not working on something you should, look past the immediate benefits or disadvantages and think of the bigger picture. The lesson may not be there in black and white, but it is there, and the only way to know what it is, is to go at it yourself.

Remember, every experience has a hidden agenda. Every experience has a way of teaching you something. You may not be able to see it in the moment, but it is there, I guarantee it.

The companion to low expectations is not caring so much when things don’t go as planned. Of course you should care about things you are creating or working on, but you have to let it go once it’s in the world and can’t be changed. This is the same for the results of things that you now have no control over.

Low expectations probably isn’t helpful for motivating you, but neither is crying over spilt milk.

‘Having a unique sound is the minimal obligation.’

Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age (QOTSA)

Having a unique sound is the minimal obligation. It’s the starting point. Then once you have that unique sound, just start pumping things out.

But the thing is, your unique sound comes precisely because you start pumping things out. There’s not two ways about it.

Some more gems from Josh Homme:

• Why can’t every song you play be your best?

• What’s not out there that would be interesting to hear?

• Genre is only important to people at the record store.

I think of all the music I’ve ever listened to, my favourite band is a toss up between The Beatles and QOTSA. Both for entirely different reasons. The Beatles revolutionised modern music, there’s no other way of putting it. But QOTSA for me is entirely about the sound. I used to listen to Songs For The Deaf on repeat before waterpolo games to get me hyped up, and I remember blasting my favourite QOTSA song Little Sister out of our Ford Telstar’s crummy speakers.

Watch the interview here (if you can bare Joe Rogan that is):

By definition, challenges help us realise where we aren’t good enough, yet. Challenges help us realise that we need to make changes, sometimes big ones, but they also help us realise that sometimes things just aren’t worth changing.

Challenges could go either way.

Whatever the result, it’s worth considering that challenges help push us forward. Challenges aren’t to be avoided completely. They are to be recognised for what they are, a chance to grow.

Getting the upper hand means dealing with the unruly tactics of the opposition.

You can complain about it to the ref, or you can get on with the job.

Remember, it’s part of the game.

You don’t have to stoop to the level of the opposition, that would be letting them get to you.

Accept that the opposition will try some tactics, but know that you don’t need to play along.

Focusing on your own game can be tough. It’s part of the game that your opponent lets you know that. It takes strength and resilience to get past that, but it is key to having the upper hand.

Instead, turn your focus to what you can control. Turn your focus ever more sharply to your own game.

Go for the small fish, and if you get it, you’ll be spending your days wondering why you didn’t go for the bigger fish.

You have to go for the big fish. Who knows, you might just catch one.

But then again, there’s always the Qui-Gon Jinn problem.

You gotta be good enough to win it in the face of adversity. It’s as simple as that.

Hayden Wilde (who I’ve met before 🙂 ) is a New Zealand triathlete who made headlines in NZ for his sportsmanship recently. Penalised for a 50/50 call that cost him a gold medal, Hayden took it on the chin, and congratulated his competitor gracefully, even opting to high five him right before the end of the race.

Hayden knows that if he hadn’t gotten that penalty, it is very likely that he would have won (well, it was a ten second penalty, and he lost by 13 seconds, but I don’t know). However, he took it gracefully and was lauded for his sportsmanship, as he knows that getting fussy about it would only make matters worse.

There’s something we could all learn from this. There is such a thing as losing gracefully, and while disappointing in the moment, Hayden showed us how it’s done.

In April, I finally caved into my urge and bought a drone. It was something I had been considering for probably a couple of years by that point, but the drone I wanted was just out of a comfortable price range for me.

Until it wasn’t. I found it around $100 cheaper, which I now realise was to make way for a newer model. So, I bit the bullet, and a few days later I was in possession of a DJI Mini 2, and I couldn’t be happier.

Until I wasn’t. In June, the Japanese government made it mandatory to register all drones under 500g (mine is under 200g). I hadn’t registered yet, and I very stupidly believed the people on Twitter who told me I was out of luck and essentially had a $700 paperweight on my hands. I tried registering the drone, but no luck.

Naturally I was devastated, I hadn’t felt a shock like that for a long time. I was also an idiot though. I posted about it on this blog, and a friend told me I was straight up wrong, and that all I had to do was register.

Turns out when I tried to register the drone it didn’t accept my katakana name the first time around, and they had emailed me to let me know, but it was sent to my spam folder.

Long story short, my drone is back in action, so I thought I’d take the time to collect my thoughts about some of the things I have learned so far.

1. Be mindful of movements

Nobody likes jarring footage. With drones this is ten times true. The smoother you can move in the air, the better. Slight movements with your fingers are going to go a long way, I would say to practice this first.

A side note on this is that it’s fine to have your drone static in the air, as long as there’s some movement in the picture, and the picture is framed well, it looks great!

2. Be mindful of the battery

Besides the obvious making sure you never run out of battery while in the air, this can be used to give you a variety of shots. My drone has three batteries, which ideally means three flights. When I’m out on the mountains I’m thinking of three different perspectives I can get of the mountain.

Usually this means something from the summit, something from far away, and I’m working on getting some action shots too, although this really depends on the type of mountain.

3. Be mindful of surroundings

This is another obvious one, but besides things in the direct way of the drone, also be aware of the weather and light. Multiple times I’ve wanted to get footage of a mountain, only when I get around to it, it’s covered in cloud. Best to take advantage of the weather, as that’s one thing that can and will change!

Having a drone is amazing. It’s been more fun than I thought it would be, and I’m learning so much by getting it out and trying to capture good footage. It feels like I felt 12 years ago when I first picked up an SLR, a sense of excitement at what I can capture. And for the most part, it has been delivering, but I want to develop my skills even more.

With today’s climb up Yakushi-san, I’m now a quarter of the way through the 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata list. I must say, it has been everything I expected and more.

If you just go by the yamagatayama website or the accompanying book, to be honest, it’s pretty lackluster. Of course nothing beats actually going to the mountains to experience them for yourself, but I’ve found the information on Yamagatayama to be minimal at best.

This is obviously because they were limited with space, 100 mountains is a lot of information to pack into a small book (the website is another story though, it could have been designed much better in my opinion).

Either way, I’m trying to compile what I think is the important and interesting information people should know about the mountains of Yamagata. As each of the mountains were chosen due to their cultural significance, they all have interesting stories to tell. I see it as my job to not only discover these stories, but to dissect them and present them in an appealing way.

What’s next?

Next, I’m going to continue what I’m doing. This morning I got up at 4:30 to be able to climb the mountain before it got too hot, but even then I feel I was a bit late. Summer is the time to climb the taller mountains, and I think that’s what I’m going to have to do.

I still need to do Chokai, and am exploring my options at the moment. There’s also Jizomori-yama that is at a high elevation off Gassan. In terms of mountains climbable in summer that are relatively nearby, these two are probably my best bet. Otherwise I’m thinking I will have to wait until late September or October to hit up the other lower peaks, especially those in the Mogami region.

For some of the recent videos on the mountains of Yamagata, instead of writing articles, I’ve essentially been writing scripts for the videos. Kamewari-yama is a prime example, and I’m working on something right now for Zao-san. In a way, this has dictated the way in which I write. I imagine myself having to say these words as I write, and that affects the sorts of words or the language I would use. And honestly, I think it’s much better.

Writing isn’t about the writer. Writing is all about the reader. And if the reader feels like they’re being read to, rather than having to read something, then you’re truly onto something. Reading becomes a pleasure, not a chore, and you feel inclined to find out more.

At least that’s what I’m going for with this.

So, write as you’d speak. Write as if you’re talking directly to someone right next to you. Even better, picture exactly who that person may be. That way you can be more personal, more intimate, and more effective at story-telling, the main aim of writing (for me at least).

In yamabushi training we are actively discouraged from helping out others. On the surface this may seem extremely selfish, but in fact the opposite is true.

If someone is struggling and you give them a helping hand, you’re also taking away their ability to do things for themselves, you’re also taking away their opportunity to do and therefore learn things for themselves.

Of course if it was a life-threatening thing you should help out, but in most cases it isn’t. In most cases you’re just getting in the way of their training.

The longer you do something, the better you get at it. In principle at least. I’ve found that when it comes to swimming or other exercise, as opposed to high intensity stuff in short bursts, the longer you can do something, the better.

Ultimately there should be a combination of the two types of exercise, but I’ve found that being able to swim for longer has a better effect on weight loss, which was my ultimate aim. I would say the same is true for running as well, in my experience.

So, if you’re just getting back in the pool or on the track, your first aim should be going for distance. Your first aim should be building up your stamina little by little until you can essentially go non-stop. Easier said than done, of course, but if you work at slowly increasing distance or time, you’ll get there.

Humans are born to run, or in my case swim, and the longer you can do that, the better.

Things have to be a priority to get done. If they aren’t on your agenda, they aren’t a priority, and they won’t get done.

The tweaking never stops.

You set up a system and have it in place, but there is no such thing as a perfect system. Therefore, periodic review is a must.

If you can have a set way of doing things, but a set way that demands periodic review, then that’s a good way of going about things.

Systemic but with systemic review, so to speak.

This works well with things like the process of translation jobs, or managing other projects as it allows you to do the work while also looking for potential improvements.

Then it’s a matter of tweaking until you find what works, and then simply tweaking and tweaking some more when your needs are not met.

Life’s not fair. That much is true.

So what are you going to do about it? Complain? Make a fuss?

No.

Embrace it.

Life’s not fair. So what?

It’s not what are you going to do about it. It’s what can you do about it.

And if you put your mind to it, there’s quite a lot that you can do!

When things get tough, let your breath do the work. Stop for a second. Then focus on your breath. Take in enough deep breaths that you can have some semblance of calm.

Then carry on.

Let your breath do the work.

An important part of Yamabushi training (and therefore life), is how you react to other people. Or more importantly how you react when other people break the rules, or do something against your rules.

For example, this is frowned upon yet not enforced, but it’s ok to bring in your own food to training. Usually if you did that you would eat it somewhere where nobody else would know, but some people are quite brazen with this.

When it comes to Yamabushi training, you have no real control over what other people do. You can feel jealous, or you can sort of just ignore it and focus on your own training. I know which one I’d prefer.

When you receive information in the language it was originally made in, you gain a better understanding for yourself. When things have been translated or otherwise interpreted already, there is an added layer that means you lose the chance to learn things for yourself. That’s why learning a second language is so beneficial, so you can learn things first hand, but this isn’t limited to language learning.

The same can be said for experiences.

When you experience something first hand, rather than as an account of someone who does, the experience changes completely. The experience becomes the experience, and that is the only way to gain a proper understanding.

So when people haven’t experienced what you have, you need to give them a break. You need to understand that they do not understand, and that they may not even need to understand, but that that is perfectly fine.

We all have to do things we don’t enjoy, to meet people we may not like, or to try something we know we won’t enjoy every once in a while. But if you go into the experience thinking it’s going to be all bad, then you’re missing some prime opportunities for growth.

No matter the situation, or your opinions on it, there’s always something you can learn. There’s always going to be something unfavourable about any given situation, but your job isn’t to focus on that, rather it’s to focus on what you can gain from it. Do so and everything starts to look like the opportunity to learn that it already was.

I was asked what exactly it was I loved about the mountains of Yamagata. When I first started the project, I thought the mountains would all be like the 100 Famous Mountain of Japan, Gassan, essentially an alpine environment. I’ve since found that the majority are more like the much smaller but perhaps more culturally significant Haguro.

And that’s a good thing.

I feel like an adventurer discovering new territory, and I sort of am one. A lot of the information in Japanese on the Yamagatayama website is quite sparse, and I make a point of going the extra mile and doing my own research. The things I have discovered are quite remarkable, if I may say so myself.

Who would have thought that there would be a mountain on the outskirts of Sakata that had been revered since the 700s, with evidence to prove so (Kyogakura-yama). Or that a mountain I would have passed at least 100 times was actually a castle in the past (Yamuki-yama)? Or what about a mountain with a legendary white snake in its secret pond, complete with phantom falls (Yozo-san).

Either way, this project has been much more than I ever expected. It’s proving to be really fun, and some of the mountains I have coming up are equally exciting too. Stay tuned for more.

I have a high school age friend who I have essentially been mentoring for a few years now. They’re extraordinary. They have what it takes to enter the top universities in Japan, and they’re trying really hard to do so. There’s a conviction in their eyes that it will happen, too.

It got me thinking of what I would do in that position. I’m certain there was a time where I would have been totally put off by the barrier to entry. So much so that I may not have even tried.

Not so for this person.

It takes a certain level of confidence and conviction to be able to do this. And it feels like the logical conclusion of this student’s history to date. I’m sure they were convinced from a young age that they were destined to do something like this, and that makes all the difference in the world.

What was the last thing the drummer said before they got fired? ‘Hey guys, I’ve written a song.’

If you’re a drummer, you’re a drummer. A drummer’s role is to keep the beat going. If you can’t do that, you ruin the whole song, and it defeats the purpose of having a drummer in the first place.

When you’re the interpreter, it’s your job to interpret. Even if you can answer someone’s question due to your domain knowledge, don’t. It’s not your place.

This is something I’ve learned first hand. When your roles are set, stick to them. Do them to the best of your ability. Just don’t do something out of place.

All this knowledge we accumulate, through books, tv, YouTube, magazines, the news, and so on, we accumulate to inform us how we should, or equally importantly shouldn’t, act or behave.

So when it comes to writing or creating something, we need to think of the impacts our writing should or could have. That’s why there needs to be a practical element behind the stories we tell. There has to be something there that informs us how to act in the future.

If you can more easily ascertain exactly what action the media is or is not encouraging, then the media has done a good job of existing. If not, you need to work until it does.

I had an older friend in my early days in Japan and the thing he always used to say was ‘nandemo taiken’, it’s all about the experience.

This is true when you’re partaking in something, you want to feel something for the real experience rather than seeing it through someone else’s eyes, or by comparing things to your expectations of the experience.

It is also true retrospectively. Having gone through experiences is often the only way you can learn, well, basically anything.

Go into experiences with a pure heart, and see them with a pure heart as well. Then you can get an understanding for what’s what.

There’s no two ways about it. If you’re going to swim, you have to get used to being in the water. The sooner you can embrace the water, the sooner you can be able to swim well.

Starting from childhood is quite possibly the best way to do it, but if you don’t have that luxury, it’s on you to get out there and get into the water.

I’ve watched countless people flail their arms about while their legs are dragging. However, if you understand how the water moves, or more specifically, how you move through the water, then you understand that it’s not about fighting the water, it’s about moving with it, and letting it help you get to where you need to go.

Water needs to be embraced, only then can you harness its power.

This isn’t exactly the yamabushi way, but whenever flustered, a bit overworked or just not feeling right, make a point of putting down what you are feeling into words. The feelings may be incoherent at first, and you may not know how to express your thoughts succinctly, but putting them down into words helps you process the feelings and also moves you closer to clarifying them as well.

Doing so frequently also allows you to look for patterns, it allows you to see whether these feelings are just a one off thing or like a wave that ebbs and flows, and importantly whether they need to be actioned upon.

The non-yamabushi part is the simple act of writing, which takes you out of living in the moment. But I guess if you’re not actively doing yamabushi training at the moment, and you haven’t had the time in nature to process these thoughts, doing something like this can be just as beneficial.

Things aren’t sorted just yet, but I may have figured out what the problem was with my application to register my drone. When I first registered it, it wouldn’t accept my Katakana name, but I didn’t realise that until I checked my spam folder and it told me so (always make a point of checking your spam folder! I even got a job from it once!).

So, I logged in again, but this time I changed the way I spelt my name in Katakana. Instead of using ティモシー、I used ティモシイ, and it was accepted.

For whatever reason Japan doesn’t want to get with the program in allowing different types of characters (they have to be full-length katakana or else they don’t work), which is a real pain if you have a name out of the norm. Sometimes they don’t even allow non Kanji names, and Rakuten Travel has this thing of using Hiragana even for foreign names, which, to be honest is pretty funny. My name becomes てぃむ and it looks really cute.

Either way, bear in mind that if you have a non-Japanese name, things may not be that easy for you when it comes to filling out forms online!