ようら

It has been five full months since I have moved to Japan. A lot has happened in that time. I've met amazing people, fell in love with my job, tried many new things, learned more about myself and kind of built a life in this quiet small town. That's a lot to happen in just a few months, at least for me it is. I tend to be more of a listless person, the big wheel grinds slow as they say. I am happy here, I truly enjoy the quiet life of the countryside while also being able to take a little train ride and be in the big city. It truly is a different experience, yet it doesn't feel all that foreign. The people are friendly and it just feels all very local. What I mean by that is if the rest of Japan just stopped existing, this town wouldn't even skip a beat. Just an easy going place full of easy going people. Maybe that's a bit extreme but the disconnect feels real but I don't know if it is real. I'm a foreigner, I just witness things from the outside.

I have also noticed, my life has become more, laze. I feel less stressed even though I have incurred much more responsibility. I feel as if I'm being consumed and assimilated by the environment I now reside in. Previous Gordian knots' simply do not tumult me any longer. Things will be as they will be, no sense in worrying about it. When I first started this expedition I would worry about so many little things. Eventually I realized, it really doesn't matter. What's most important is to just show up, be present, actually be HERE. The rest will work itself out. Because of this, many of my colleagues have taken the time to point out that I have such a ようら (youra) style. ようら (youra) is one word in a seemingly never ending dictionary of my city's 方言 (hougen). 方言 (hougen) is Japanese dialect/slang. As far as I can tell, almost every town has some version of 方言 (hougen). There are a few major dialects that are pretty understandable, and then there are some that don't even sound Japanese (like in my city). ようら (youra) has many meanings, but they all imply a sense of "free". Example definitions are:

free style, free form, easy going, relax, just go with the flow, no plan

Now that I am accustomed to the word I hear and use it more often. It really is a fun way to live. There is a certain amount of uncertainty that I enjoy about it. It breeds spontaneity. Take opportunity as it comes, don't needlessly search for it. That doesn't mean proactivity isn't a necessity, don't be blinded by "what could" that you don't see "what is". All this is much easier said than done. I admit that I waste so much of my time doing otiose things. Self improvement, in my eyes, is first acknowledgment, then mediation, and lastly motion. Change doesn't happen over night. ようらようら, you got this.