The World Through Hawaiian Eyes

"?????????
How did I end up here?"

It was a cold January day outside the sleepy town of Minakami. After a few hours of alpine and cross-country skiing, I decided on a short respite. I found a hillside spot overlooking the forested hilly land of Gunma prefecture that wrapped around Lake Akaya and sat down.

As I sat, the silence was so great that you could hear the freshest powder blanketing the ski fields. It was beautiful. Just as the serenity was becoming concrete, the twilight mountain winds began to pick up. Deciding it was high time to head back to the room, I started in the direction of the hotel.

"?????????
How did I end up here?"

No sooner had I caught sight of the hotel's lights than a sudden blizzard enveloped me. Completely engulfed, I couldn't see a thing. The wind was howling. The beautiful landscape took an ugly turn...

How did I end up here?

My thoughts took me back to the hillside vista. Despite being quite some ways from the warm safety of the hotel, I was able to keep calm and composed. I continued as best I could in the closest semblance to a straight line.

?????????

The winds beginning to subside, I could make out the hotel lights through the remaining flurries of snow. The blizzard probably lasted 10 minutes but to me, it felt like an eternity. Thanks to the image of the hillside vista, it was a beautiful eternity.

In Japanese culture, the colour white represents purity and beautiful sterility. It is the colour of snow. It is the colour of death.

"?????????
How did I end up here?"

Perhaps, for the austere Japanese outlook, death, while sometimes arriving like a freak snowstorm is in the same instant beautiful like the Gunma landscape.