I propose a new Ikigai. A new Shinrinyoku. A new Wabisabi. A new practice based on Japanese culture.
I call it Kumomi.
Cloud-watching.
Sure, watching the clouds is a common pastime in other parts of the world.
But so is taking a walk in the forest.
Why should taking a walk in the forest get all the attention? What about those fluffy things in the sky? Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes staring up would know, clouds are awesome!
Sometimes they are black and scary.
Sometimes they flash!
Sometimes they are white and dainty, like a giant sheep you just want to cuddle.
Sometimes they hide, leaving you longing for more.
Other times they look like dragons, and in case you missed the memo, dragons are cool!
Plus, like forests, and as the Japanese always remind us, clouds change by the season.
Autumn clouds are the best clouds.
Autumn clouds are my favourite clouds. In autumn, you get very fine days of pure blue with long stretches of white. Then you get cloudy and rainy days with the added bonus of holes creating Jacob’s ladders that put the spotlight on random things in the distance: a certain section of a forest, a mountaintop, a building like the ‘country elevators’ (see above photo caption) here in Japan.
And sometimes, if you’re really lucky, the torii gates of Yudono-san:
It all makes for such drama on a literal worldly scale. It is also such a simple form of entertainment, like people watching.
Or walking in the forest.
Kumomi.
Cloud-watching.
Try it when you’re next outside. See how it changes you as a human, and let me know how you go while you’re at it!