Following last year, I had the honor of participating once again in the retreat held in Santa Fe — for the second year in a row.

https://www.upaya.org/2025/05/inner-practice-of-medicine-blog-1/

It was truly a rare and unique opportunity, unlike anything else in the world, and I’m deeply grateful to have experienced it again this year.

Over the course of about four days, I lived and spent time from morning until night with people I had never met before. And yet, somehow, in this environment, I found myself opening up from the bottom of my heart — sharing thoughts and feelings I usually keep inside.

I wonder… are there any other places that feel this safe? It’s truly a mystery to me.

• 

• 

I went to a concert by two artists who had come to Japan from Brazil.

What surprised me was that the concert wasn’t advertised in the media at all—it was promoted solely through social media and word of mouth.

Even when I arrived at the venue, there weren’t any posters (surprisingly).

And yet, all 350 seats were completely filled.

• 

Tatsuya Nakadai, one of Japan’s most iconic actors, is 92 years old this year—but he’s still actively performing on stage.

The theater is located in a remote area, more than an hour’s drive from Kanazawa Station, yet people from all over the country came to see him, even on a weekday.

I wonder—when I turn 92, will I be standing in front of people, laying myself bare, doing something that could open me up to criticism?

Maybe I’ll just be living a life where time simply passes, believing that “nothing happening” is the same as happiness.

• 

• 

It’s been such a long time since I last went to a barbecue.

In Japan, barbecues are more like special leisure events, but in other countries, they seem to be more of an everyday kind of meal.

I feel like even people who don’t get along might be able to patch things up if they have a barbecue together.

I visited Koami Shrine, which is said to be the most powerful spiritual spot in Tokyo.

There were many foreign tourists there as well.

Perhaps the feeling of wanting to make a wish to the gods is something shared by people all over the world.

• 

•