Beautiful Aging.

Both material things and the memories held within people
fade into sepia tones over time,
embracing a gentleness that is different from monochrome.

Even though things were vibrant while the memories were fresh,
they are bound to change as time passes.

They gain a certain bitterness,
and evolve into something deeply flavorful,
not just simply beautiful.

The passage of years leads to beauty.

A newborn baby
is overflowing with vitality, sparkling and robust,
possessing a beauty untainted by anything.

For example,
the same can be said for newly constructed buildings.

Anything that has a physical form
is, simply by being new,
incredibly beautiful.

But what about old temples and shrines?
You can feel a beauty in them as well, can't you?

It is a beauty that cannot be achieved overnight,
and one is left breathless just looking at their presence.

Those places are buildings
that use natural materials in the right places,
and when a certain time comes,
they preserve what should be preserved and let it mature,
while repairing what needs to be fixed using the latest technology,
carefully restored by carpenters
who have inherited techniques from long ago.

The reason we feel they are beautiful even after many years
is not because of the beauty of brand-newness,
but because they cherish
the concept of 'wabi-sabi'.

Time spent with people who shared your youth

Actually, in a few days,
I have a scheduled reunion
with my high school baseball team, which we try to hold once a year.

Whenever I recall
the days we spent laughing over silly things,
and the days we sweated so much that salt would form on the insides of our elbows,
I find myself savoring that sepia tone.

Once a year,
it feels like I am rolling memories that are not just vibrant, but sepia-toned, around in my mouth (laughs).

To describe itvery beautifully,
one could say that this, too, is like 'wabi-sabi'.

Wabi is the heart that finds charm in simple things.
Sabi is the beauty that emerges with the passage of time.

They were just ordinary days,
but as time goes by,
I feel like those days become more beautiful.

The dazzling morning sun and the glowing sunset,
the stadium lights shining at night,
all these sepia-toned memories
come to mind
as scenes where I can feel beauty somewhere.

It is not that the light I see now
is dim ⸜(*˙꒳˙*)⸝⟡.·*.
It is just that it has a different flavor.

In conclusion

Living life
is not just about beautiful things,
and in terms of balance,
I feel like there are actually more painful things.

In the midst of that,
it feels like I am being tested
on how much I can enjoy it
and how much joy I can find.

Perhaps the memories I want to keep dear,
and those precious moments that have come to define who I am today,
have turned sepia-toned
and continue to remain within me.

The Japanese name for sepia
is actually "cuttlefish ink color" (lol).
I would like to call it "the color of evening" ( ˊ꒳ˋ ) ᐝ

If I can savor a certain memory as beautiful,
then perhaps that memory hasn't rusted or deteriorated,
but has instead undergone a beautiful transformation.

It was a weekend where I thought
that I hope to continue layering beautiful aging
within myself from here on out.

For now, at the baseball team reunion,
I'll be checking on everyone's health (lol).

Thank you for reading until the end.
See you later.