To the Greatest Person | Walking No Matter What

The year is almost over.

Yesterday, the city had snow flurries from the morning, as if the blue sky of the winter solstice had been a lie. It's cold.
When I checked the train schedule at the station on my way home, one train heading toward an area with heavy snow was listed as "Destination Undecided."
I wonder where on earth it's being taken...

This year, I couldn't move as I wanted, and especially in the second half, it was a year where many things went through my mind while I just endured.
It feels like I didn't do anything, but I think it was a year where I was given the opportunity to think about many things more than last year, when I was being chased around in a frenzy.

As for my physical condition, when I'm feeling good, I'm gradually returning to a state closer to my normal self before I felt unwell.
Just when I think that, if I push myself a little, I get headaches, feel terribly tired, or the waves of discomfort return.

The range of my emotional swings is large.
There are times when I feel better and gradually become motivated, but there are also more times than before when I feel anxious about the future or scared.

I feel like my strength is gradually returning. It's been a long time.
However, while I've positioned this year as rehabilitation and gotten through each day, there are times when I feel like I'm accumulating new stress and damage.

For now, during the year-end and New Year holidays, I'll try to focus on resting without thinking about troublesome things.
It's not a year that anyone would praise me for, but for now, I want to think that I did well to finish it without breaking.

This summer, with a blank mind that couldn't take anything in, I listened to "Koyoi no Tsuki no You ni" on the commuter train for the first time in a while, and from there, my passion for listening to Elephant Kashimashi has been rekindled for about half a year.

(One of the top three most-read articles this year. There was a moment where I was moved when the artist himself gave an answer-like talk on SONGS.)

I only know the famous ones, and I've never even been to a live concert. Even with a level of involvement where I'm not sure if I can call myself a fan, I was greatly encouraged by the songs this year.

Recently, I've been listening to "Kanashimi no Hate" and "Kaze ni Fukarete" a lot.
Listening to cover songs by other singers is also interesting.
Recently, various singers have been releasing videos on YouTube, and the skeleton of the music and lyrics is fleshed out with each singer's interpretation, sometimes becoming something completely different.

I feel that the lyrics written by Hiroji Miyamoto have something in common with the spirit of Zen, which is "not being attached," something I have tried to keep in mind regarding how to place my feelings even at work.
Someone might have already come up with this idea, but there was a time when I thought it might be interesting to write about where "Elephant Kashimashi, Hiroji Miyamoto, and Zen" intersect.

He recently covered RADWIMPS' "Oshakashama." I'm not that well-versed in Zen, but I've been thinking I'd like to write a little about it someday while considering where to place my own mental state. I wonder if I can write it...

In the last few days, I started listening to a new song, and I found a song that is perfect for listening to at the end of this year, to the point where I wonder if it was written for me right now.

"Aisubeki Kyou."
I think it's a song from about 10 years ago. Did he make such a good song even during the period I wasn't listening?

Walking no matter what

Perhaps this person really does view life as a path or the act of walking.
Since I was listening to various songs a lot, I feel like my basic stance for this year has also become, at least,

Walking no matter what form I'm in.
I feel like this has become my stance.

I was stumbling, swaying, wandering in circles, and using the person next to me's shoulder as a crutch.
I was walking with my posture low, catching the wind.
It was the most uncool year ever, but I'm glad I didn't stop walking.
That is the one thing I'm glad about this year.