A Message on the Day I Fell: During the Autumn Doyo

The autumn Doyo period.

A time of seasonal transition, when things feel a bit unsettled.

I went to view two commercial properties I had been interested in.

—

With the first one, I knew it wasn't right the moment I opened the door.
It wasn't just that it lacked space; more than that,
the feeling that 'this isn't the place' hit me strongly the second I stepped inside.

The second one had enough space, and my impression was, 'Well, it's not bad.'
It wasn't perfect, but there was something comforting about it.
However, there were a few things I still wanted to confirm.

—

Since I had a few points to check,
I asked the agent to confirm them with the owner.

I had viewed the property at 5:30 PM.
I heard that someone else had decided to sign the contract just a few hours earlier that morning.

I felt a little disappointed, but strangely, I didn't feel any regret.
I thought, 'It's just a matter of timing.'

—

The next day, my family and I went to visit our family grave.
I expressed my gratitude to our ancestors,
and talked about how they passed down the gift of life and how I am here today.

My youngest daughter
told her late grandmother, 'I'm four years old now.'

On the way back from our last visit to the grave,
that same daughter stepped in dog poop with both feet.
I remember laughing and saying, 'You've got some good luck now,'
which made the whole family smile.

—

After visiting the grave, we stopped by a park.
I was 'it' in a game of tag and was chasing my eldest son.
I was running slowly, but on the second step after picking up speed,

I unexpectedly fell on the wet grass.
I slipped, fell over, and scraped my right elbow.

It's not often that an adult falls down.
It hurt, but I couldn't help but laugh at myself.

—

After I fell,
I thought about the meaning of the phrases 'to have the ground cut out from under you' and 'to slip up.'

The day after viewing the property,
visiting the grave, and then falling in the park.
As I reflected on that sequence of events,
I found myself wanting to 'give it some meaning' in my own way.

It might be a stretch,
but I felt that was okay.

If you rush, you only lose your footing.
It feels like it took falling down
for me to finally remember such a simple thing.

Gratitude toward ancestors,
and finding realizations within daily life.
Those things sink in more quietly
when you feel them yourself rather than being taught by someone else.

I should have realized it sooner,
but since I didn't understand, I was gifted a 'slip' as a reminder.

It was a stylish message, but
well, my elbow still hurts a little bit...