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Leaving yesterday behind, walking into today. A pre-dawn walk brings me back to 'myself'.

2026年1月19日 21:27

While it is still dark

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is walk the dog.
I get dressed, wash my face, and just apply moisturizer.
I leave the house while it is still dark.

—

Between night and morning

The morning sky, just before sunrise.
Before the day has truly begun,
both sounds and signs of life are somewhat faint.

Even though the city remains quiet,
it looks as if only the sky has started moving a step ahead.

Between pink and pale gray.
That color found on the border of night and morning.

—

A world of one person and one dog

It is very cold this time of year,
so there are few people outside.

Walking down the dark road, just the two of us,
at first, I start to feel as if
we are the only ones in this world.

—

To the usual morning

But, after walking a little further,
I begin to hear the sound of cars in the distance,
lights turn on in someone's house, and signs of people increase.

From a quiet world to the usual morning world.
As if crossing a boundary line,
without realizing it, I am taking steps forward one by one.

—

A path that unknots the mind

Even if something unpleasant happened yesterday,
while walking this path,
my feelings gradually settle down.

The breath I exhale is white, and the air I inhale is piercingly cold.
But that coldness
cools my sleeping head and heart into a pleasantly blank state.

—

The feeling that it is okay to start today

It is not that anything is solved dramatically.
Still, it feels like I don't have to carry
yesterday's heavy mood into today,
as if I am being given permission to say, 'It is okay to start today anew,'
that is the kind of feeling I get.

—

At the morning park

At the entrance of the park,
elderly people gather every morning.
It is time for radio calisthenics.

'Good morning.'
As I greet them and pass by,
'You're diligent even in this cold,'
they say to my dog.

—

Familiar greetings

A little further ahead are three people who are
a bit too young to be called elderly.
They are on their usual walk around the park.

Since we are familiar faces,
a 'Good morning' is naturally exchanged here as well.

—

The accumulation called living

The people in the park in the morning are a bit older.
Younger people are surely
spending much busier times in the morning.

But when I see these seniors in life moving energetically in the morning like this,
I feel encouraged, thinking,
'So this is what living is—an accumulation of moments.'

These casual greetings are also
important threads that keep me connected to society.

—