The once-in-20-years Kawabiki, next time I will be 86.

Today, I observed the 'Kawabiki' (river pulling) event of the Ise Okibiki festival.
There were many people in the river.
Under the midsummer sun, they slowly pulled the sacred log while chanting in unison.
Watching them from the shore, I found myself thinking about something.
Will I be able to see this sight again?
Kawabiki happens once every 20 years.
The next one is in 20 years.
I will be 86 years old then.
Of course, I want to come and see it again.
But as a doctor, and as a person who has turned 66, I also know that I cannot easily say there will be a 'next time'.
Having worked as an emergency physician for over 40 years, I have been involved in the final moments of more than 10,000 people.
There are words I have heard many times during that experience.
'See you again next year.'
'Let's do this together next time.'
'Someday.'
I have seen many people for whom that 'someday' never came.
That is why, lately, the span of twenty years feels very long.
The blue sky I saw today.
The flow of the Isuzu River.
The smiles of the people pulling the sacred log.
Each one of these felt like a 'once-in-a-lifetime view'.
People cherish things when they know it will be the 'last time'.
But in reality, no one knows if it is truly the last time or not.
This year's fireworks.
A friend I am meeting for the first time in a while.
A delicious meal.
Even this day today.
It might possibly be the last.
That is why I want to cherish it, not because I am sad, but precisely because of that.
I do not know if I will be able to see this view again in twenty years.
But I think I will never forget the view I saw today.
People cannot live in the future.
The only time we can live is always 'today'.
That is why I want to live each day, today, with care.
Gratitude.