Recipes for Happiness of Mind and Body💞A Morning Wishing for the Health of Loved Ones

💞Recipes for Happiness of Mind and Body

Today's Theme: "A Morning Wishing for the Health of Loved Ones"

A morning when a face comes to mind
before your own.

I hope you are well.
Are you pushing yourself too hard?
Are you sleeping well?
That feeling is
not anxiety,
but a form of love.
Wishing for health means
even if you are not by their side,
turning your heart toward them.

Today is
a morning of not worrying excessively,
a morning of quietly believing,
as if in prayer,
a morning of composing your thoughts.
Gentle wishes
cross the distance
and reach them.

💞Today's Quotes

Love is the active concern for the life and growth of that which we love.
Erich Fromm

Compassion is the quietest form of strength.
Helen Keller

Prayer is the act of composing the heart.
Mother Teresa

The heart that thinks of loved ones makes a person kind.
Louise Hay

Wishes reside in the heart before they become actions.
Albert Schweitzer

💞Morning Poem

The morning lake
reflects the distant mountains
and the clouds in the sky
quietly.

Without touching,
it spreads out
as if to embrace them.
Without rippling,
without making a sound,
it simply accepts.

That transparency
whispers softly
deep in the chest:
the quieter the wish,
the deeper it reaches.

💞Zen Koan: "A Question from Me to Myself in the Morning"

Zen Koan: "What is the signal to return to the here and now?"

Before I know it, my mind wanders far away.
Work that isn't finished,
a future that hasn't happened yet,
a past I couldn't rephrase.
Even though my body is here,
my consciousness has drifted somewhere else.

Zen poses a question there:
What is the signal
to return to the here and now?

No special bell rings
No great light shines
The signal to return is
very small

The moment you notice your breath
The weight of your soles
The temperature of your fingertips
The expansion of sound
Each of these
becomes a quiet signal

Rather than deciding to 'return'
Noticing 'Oh, I had drifted away'
That realization itself
is already a homecoming

Zen does not blame you for wandering far
Getting lost
or overthinking
is not bad
You just simply
forget the path back

Here and now
is always open
No keys or conditions required
Just verify it

What am I
feeling right now?
What am I seeing?
What am I hearing?

That question
becomes the signal
Returning to the here and now is not about gaining something
It is about gently bringing back
the attention that had drifted away

The signal is
always, already
within your body

💞My Breakfast

My breakfast is centered around fermented foods.
Today, it is 'Mie Prefecture',' a fermentation where quiet prayers breathe, 'Ise Takuan'

As you head south from Aichi, the air becomes somewhat clearer.
Mie is a land where the sea, mountains, and a culture of prayer blend together.
Walking the path toward Ise Jingu, my breathing strangely settles.

The fermented food I encountered in this land is 'Ise Takuan'.
It is a traditional fermented pickle made by slowly soaking dried daikon radish in rice bran and salt.
It looks simple,
but its taste reflects the temperament of the land.

The Ise Takuan served at the inn's breakfast was a vibrant yellow.
After a crisp crunch, a subtle acidity and the aroma of rice bran spread.
The saltiness is not too strong, and the aftertaste fades away smoothly.

'Because this is a land where we make offerings to the gods, it is not flashy.'
The words of the local woman who told me this left an impression.

Mie's fermentation culture is about harmony rather than assertion.
It has continued alongside nature and faith.
Ise Takuan, too, is a presence that quietly supports daily meals.

Behind the bustling tourist-filled approach, the daikon continues to be pickled as it always has.
Over time, the moisture is removed, and the umami is concentrated.
Fermentation is like prayer.
Do not rush, do not hurry, just keep going.

To women who feel like they are losing their center in their busy daily lives,
Mie's Ise Takuan speaks like this:
You don't have to change in a flashy way.
You just need to settle quietly.

Walking through the town of Ise while being blown by the sea breeze,
the sunlight and the scent of rice bran mingle.
Mie's fermentation makes daily life just a little more sacred.

The daikon radish, pickled as if in prayer, will grace someone's table again today.
I believe that quiet accumulation is the strength of this land.

💞A Morning Word

A morning spent wishing for the health of a loved one
is not a weak morning.
It is a morning filled with kindness.
Today,
in your heart,
if you can quietly think,
stay well,
that is
a noble form of love.
You don't have to force yourself to protect them.
Believing
is the greatest strength of all.
May this morning
gently deliver
your wishes
in a warm and clear way.