🌿 Chapter 5 Qingming | White space comes after the collapse

🌿 The day I tried to tidy up and everything fell apart.
Something is wrong.
I was only trying to tidy up the room... trying to get things in order.
I wanted to let go of what I didn't need and welcome the season.
But before I knew it, the things I had pulled out were still spread across the floor.
The drawers were half-open, and things were getting even messier.
I started working on my desk area and tried to organize my computer, but—it wouldn't turn on.
...It was broken.
My mind felt somewhat the same way.
...What does it even mean to tidy up?
A bitter smile escaped me.

🌿 The meaning of 'beginning to tidy up'
Qingming (around April 4th–5th) is written as 'pure and bright'.
It is a time when plants sprout and the sky becomes clear.
It is said that all things begin to tidy up.
'Begin to tidy up'.
Yes, not a 'beginning,' but 'beginning to.'
I felt a slight hesitation here.
Before things tidy up, they usually get messy once.
When you try to clean up, things get scattered.
When you try to let go, you get confused.
I intended to reset, but I was reset first.
That is also a sign that the flow has moved.
Things that were stuck are starting to move.
Perhaps tidying up follows after the collapse.

🌿 Try clearing just one thing
In Eastern medicine, spring is considered the season of the 'liver'.
The liver has the function of 'circulating'.
It loosens what has been stagnant and creates a flow.
But if you strain yourself to circulate, it doesn't go well.
Circulation begins when you loosen up.
The same might be true for your room and your feelings.
So, you only need to do one thing during Qingming.
Clear one thing.
Whether it's a schedule, a drawer, or your mind.
It doesn't have to be everything.
Try creating white space for just one thing.
White space isn't something you create after tidying up,
but perhaps something that appears suddenly after the collapse.

🧅 Dietary regimen for Qingming | A table with white space
Toss new onions lightly with ponzu.
Grill spring cabbage roughly.
Add whitebait to grated daikon radish.
Boil asparagus and leave it as is.
✦
Around Qingming, the body is still in the middle of spring.
The power that tries to circulate is moving quietly.
So, let's follow that in how we eat.
Don't interfere. Don't disturb. Gently ride the flow.
✦
The sharp pungency of new onions softens.
Spring cabbage releases its sweetness just by being grilled.
Grated daikon radish flows lightly, and whitebait fills it a little.
Asparagus lifts the 'qi' just a little with its aroma.
Unraveling, loosening, flowing, lifting.
A table where that flow seems to pass through the body.
✦
There are days when things go better if you don't try too hard.
The middle of spring might be just such a time.

🍑 Spring tea, a breather.
Brewing white peach sencha.
It has a sweet scent, yet it is strangely refreshing.
The moment the aroma rises, the tension in my shoulders eases just a little.
It's close to the feeling of unraveling.
Spring is a season where your spirit easily becomes tense.
So, loosening up might be the best form of self-care.

🕯️ I was watching the air change.
I received some sandalwood incense.
It was a scent I like, and I was happy.
When I lit it, a thin trail of smoke rose quietly.
I didn't do anything; I just watched it.
Before I knew it, my breathing had become a little deeper.

🌸 Just walking under the cherry blossoms.
I just walked through the cherry blossoms in full bloom.
I didn't think about anything; I just walked.
Before I knew it, my breathing had become a little slower.
It seems the body tries to return on its own.
The heart, too, does the same.

🪴 Let's grow something, somehow.
The new fiscal year has started, and I feel somewhat unsettled.
At a flower shop I stopped by on the weekend,
I bought a small potted plant.
There is no particular reason.
A little bit of green is on the windowsill.
It seems spring comes into the room, too.

It's okay.
Even if you don't rush, things will move forward properly.