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People need to get out of their culture so they can really see what is going on. Experiencing other cultures helps one to see what works and what doesn’t. Then and only then can someone offer up a legitimate prescription for how to change and grow. While there are well intentioned people offering up ideas, what I hear and hear a lot of these days is this esoteric ungraspable way of speaking. It may sound good, but it makes no sense to those that really need it.

There is so much content, so many “experts,” whether YouTube, Podcasts or even bloggers. Who we are trying to reach is not necessarily the listeners or readers that need it. They are the converted and we are preaching to the choir. They seek out what they want to hear, but do they vet the the providers of content? Just because someone may have a well-designed website, or are slick talking or does some sort of marketing in the form of a give away to attract followers (which incidentally somehow makes one an “expert”) doesn't make them the expert in the least.

People who are not listening are the ones that really need it from people who know what they are talking about, and who coming from a place of altruistic intentions. As ironic as it sounds the people who are preaching are people of privilege. And often the privilege do not get out and get perspective.

Living in Japan for as long as I have, has given me the opportunity to gain a very different perspective on the world because of confronting my own cultural biases and expectations. Everything from my natural inclination towards narcissism, a common American trait, to individuality, which in essence means I come before anyone else, to things like child rearing and marriage. It has not been easy to extricate these qualities and way of being, or at the very least paring them down so that they are not the dominant force. I have had to learn to to what I call “move with the culture.” That is letting things unfold as they are meant to rather than muscling my way or making it happen on my time. This is very different than the “rugged individualism” myth that so dominates American society.

This has not come easy. Change does not come easy. I have spoken as of late about commitment and discipline. That is what it has taken to get to this place so far in life. It has taken patience, effort, not that effort where you force it, rather the effort to learn how to let go and accept the change that comes. This is a very different approach. It is not without pain. But that is up to you how much you want to hold on. The more you hold, the more the pain and unneeded suffering.

So with that said, get out, get perspective, whether it is a big move to a new country or something as simple as a vacation somewhere you have never been.

You just might find yourself and a new perspective.

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*This post is inspired by the movie “Dark Waters” directed by Todd Haynes I saw the other night. Without giving too much away, the gist is about one single lawyer going up against the behemoth DuPont and the product they created Teflon. Teflon has a chemical called PFOA that has been proven to cause cancer and a number of health issues. And a well known sad fact PFOA is in nearly every human being on the planet thanks to this corporation.*

Do you want to let the few live a life of power and money at the cost of so many millions of people. To not get angry, to not debate, to not speak out, to not call out power, to not tell the truth is doing a disservice to the world in which we live. I don’t care any more if I offend someone by stating the obvious truth.

Just because an older person is going to most likely die before a younger one does not dismiss one from not being responsible. It’s irresponsible to let the narrative hijacked by the rich and powerful. Average people are being hoodwinked into believing the narrative. It is an engineered form of creating a passive society.

Using the mobilizing force of other much smaller issues and the money being spent to go up against the rich and powerful is a far more important pressing issue than many of the others. I do not mean to make light of the other issues, but priority is key. Otherwise, those other issues will no be around because we will not be around.

I am motivated to action by writing about this. I do my little part each and every day. A little fuck you to the man by participating as little as I can. This is done in little ways. I don’t own or drive a car. I ride my bike, walk or take the train. I don’t own a dryer to dry my clothes, just a washer and hang my clothes to dry. I only buy natural healthy food and I eat it all before going shopping again. I use small pocket hand towels to wipe my hands instead of using paper towels. I ask for mug cups when available at any of my fav coffee shops. I no longer work for corporate America. I minimize my news viewing to about twenty minutes a day, less than half of a soap opera, which it has become. And just like a soap opera I can leave the news for a long period of time, come back and very little has changed.

It is true we are all being sold a bill of goods that will come due in the coming decades. American’s are notorious for instant gratification and not planning for the future. And live a life of for the most part manufactured by fear.

The irony is that the real fear is being played down and that is climate change and your loss of freedoms to name two of many.

There is more loss to come.

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So often we start something only to give it up in a short time. Whether a diet, exercise program or a creative endeavor like writing. It takes a certain kind of person to commit to something and have the discipline to see it through day after day.

We get in a certain kind of rut or habitual pattern that we do day in and day out that over time it feels impossible to step out of it. Or if we do, the rut is so deep, just as we feel like we have dug ourselves out, we slip back down into the old familiar patterns. We have all experienced this, myself included. It is frustrating to say the least.

To make matters worse we are hard on ourselves for having failed in the first place. We are the judge and jury for the crime, and with that internal dialogue we verbally punish ourselves. It is an uncomfortable feeling to be in. Rather than feel the feeling and go on, we just give up, make excuses and go back to our usual comfortable place, the rut. And that’s an okay place to go back to if you so choose. What makes matters worse is going back to that place, but not wanting to. Then continue about life with this undercurrent of frustration and angst. It's like a self-imposed prison.

As you can tell I am speaking from past experience. Also, from friends I know who have done this over and over. I have met “writer” friends who have written and stopped. Whenever I meet them and fill them in on what’s going on, I can see envy in their eyes followed with, “Oh I really want to get back to it.” They rarely do. So I have learned over time to say as little as possible to them. I would rather not be a part of creating that feeling of envy. I just want them to do it.

I recently realized that not everyone is cut out for stepping out of the rut. It is not easy and takes a vast amount of commitment, willingness and discipline to change. I find this topic fitting given it is just past the new year and around the time that people are at that frustration stage of their resolutions. A few more weeks and the handful that are committed will rise to the top and continue on, the rest will go back to their usual routines as their own judge and jury have come to the verdict of “failure.” I think this idea of “failure” is not the right approach. Going easy on oneself makes it easier to get back to trying it again.

The key, we cannot do it alone. It takes a community and friends and an environment that fosters change. But if all around you are people in a rut, then it is far more difficult to get out of it and make that change. The energy around your life, that is the life you created, needs to be changed and that includes people, routines and anything else that we use to stay in the same place.

Let me give you an example connected to writing. My morning routine used to be I would sleep in eat a bowl of cereal, drink a cup of coffee and read the newspaper and SNS sites online for however long I wanted to. I told myself that I had no time to do any writing except during my school vacations. So that is what I did.

During my long vacations I wrote a book, which took nearly two years. I thought okay this is something I want to incorporate into my life, this writing thing. I got an editor and edited my book. I wanted to commit to making the revisions to the book and blogging. Now what do I need to do to make this a part of my life. I know I can write everyday, just let go of spending time online, or limit it to just fifteen minutes in the morning before writing. Oh and yes I really want to write everyday so now I get up earlier to spend doing it. And if I cannot then I write when I have free time, whether in the afternoon or evening. And does it have to be long marathon writing sessions? No it does not, although I do have those twice a week. The point is to write everyday to create the momentum and energy around the commitment to writing. Did this come easy? Hell no! It took time before I reconfigured my energy and focus to this commitment and discipline.

The result, it is now second nature. There is no debate about whether to write or not, I just write be it thirty minutes or three hours. I bet you’re thinking, “Yeah but you have a lot of time on your hands.” I do now while on vacation, but I will say I have a full life of many other things going on whether on vacation or not.

I simply write because it is a part of me now.

When things get tough and you feel like you cannot do it, I like to tell on myself. This means to talk to a like-minded friend or someone in the community that understands making a commitment. That way it is out in the open and you are no longer building up a wall, or maybe a ditch is a better image. A ditch making way for that rut I am so comfortable in. It is easy to go back to that if we are not careful.

While I focused on writing, the same goes for exercise, food and any other lifestyle change you may want to make.

So go easy on yourself and know that change takes commitment, discipline and time.

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Skepticism weighing heavy as I began my journey to the consultation with a personal trainer (PT) we will call Jim. My first time entering the world of PT, I did not know what to expect. I kept my mind open a crack.

Waiting to greet me at the door his head peeking around the corner with a common not often seen Minnesota smile and greet I entered his space. And what a space it was. Nearly the size of the gym I would frequent in Minneapolis. This was not Minneapolis it was Tokyo and I was impressed. This must cost a fortune in rent considering it was central Tokyo, a prime real estate area. That right there was my first piece of evidence, this guy must be the real deal.

After changing into gym clothes we dove right in. He had me doing all kinds of what to the casual observer seemed like odd exercises – squatting with my heels on a bamboo pole. Oh so Japanese. Or sitting with my butt against the wall and legs askew stretching my arms in opposite directions. Put me on a bike, no problem. A weight room, piece of cake. Static stretches, I can do them in my sleep. That’s old school, 20th century old. We are well into the 21st and I was clearly out of my element.

I was dare I say, among what I can only say as genius. More on that later. I kept my mouth shut and let him prepare to work his magic. And magic it was. He broke the silence by explaining that what he was doing was testing my strength and mobility on a muscular and skeletal level. There were clearly weak areas that needed work, but not horribly so as in having to start over and rebuild me like Steve Austin had needed to become the bionic man. I’d rather not be him, but at the very least be able to get my body to a sustainable point that will take me into old age with little to no pain. Is this even possible?

Let the magic begin. After his explanations he put me on a massage table. He started moving my legs in directions they had never experienced, feeling the stretch in muscles I didn’t know I had. He told me to hold my breath and push against the force of his hands on my leg, then relax and then would move my leg around as if twisting a pretzel. I was hesitant to let go and let him work, but he moved it in such a confident way I knew he knew what he was doing and let go. He did the same with both legs and arms.

Then Jim had me stand up to assess what he had done. Then back down to askew my legs and arms in new directions. Then back up to assess. A few more tweaks here and there and I felt the pain in my knee go away and the lactic acid built up from the morning bike ride dissipate. Then he had me go back to the same initial squat-like exercises.

Here is where I knew I had tapped into the real deal, a genius. I squatted on the same bamboo pole he used initially to assess me. This time, the lowest squat I had ever done in years, maybe ever, with no knee pain whatsoever. “Wait, WHAT?” This is not possible in less than an hour!” I wanted to scream.

Calmly, he explained in detail what he had been doing, the problem areas and how it is all tied to breath and the nervous system. He was firing a different level of my nervous system and engaging it with my muscles and massaging and working out areas that were tight.

To say I was impressed was an understatement. The last person who blew me away like this was someone I ended up studying with for many years, and who also changed my life. This might be the next level only in a slightly different way.

We went on to discuss diet and he sent me on my way with a vitamin C recommendation, Olive Oil and two stretching exercises I do every night.

One would think that after one consultation session it would have minimal effect at best. Not the case. I am sold.

If Jim can do what he did to me in less than an hour, think what can be done in a matter of weeks or months.

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Meeting with someone I haven’t seen in more than fifteen years has had a profound impact on my life. Add to that we are like-minded, resulting in an afternoon conversation of empowerment and affirmation.

We have been on very similar paths, late in life with kids, both teachers after having previous careers. The only difference, he is in Minneapolis and I am in Tokyo. The final un-canniness, we were both raised catholic and reconciled with the religion turning towards a mindful Buddhist approach that includes meditation.

We spoke for three hours and it could have gone on longer. It’s refreshing to connect on a deep level touching on a myriad of subjects. And I was able to thank him for putting me on a path many years ago when I was having issues in my life. He knows now what he has done for me and I will be forever grateful for it. We had an instant connection and history, and look forward to our continuing our friendship if it is meant to be.

It is affirming to know that there are like-minded people. It helps bring clarity to the path I am on feeling like this is where I am supposed to be. I will keep on keeping on still not knowing where it will lead. And knowing full well that there is ultimately no destination except a life of experience, service and a meeting of like-minded people along the way.

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With Christmas come and gone a new topic has come to mind. I know weird right? Who would think that giving a gift could be a burden. In the context of Japan it can be. Strike that, in any context it can be.

The original plan was to write it from a certain perspective, and that may still happen, but just the other night I received some very sad news. A colleague at one of the universities passed away suddenly of sepsis, a very strong, in this case untreatable infection.

No need to go into details other than to say he was 70 years old and just retiring this week, and beginning the final chapter of his life. Seeing him just two weeks ago and hearing of his retirement plans nobody would have known that his time was so near. He was a kind, dedicated soul who fostered openness and wonderment in his classrooms.

How does this relate to the burden of gift giving? Let’s start with the fact that when you‘re gone, no longer of this earth and you cannot take anything with you. Everything you have accumulated including all those gifts are left for family to deal with. Most likely having to sift through the piles, boxes and closets of stuff to determine what to donate, throw away or keep. I have gone though this a number of times, and each time I vow to minimize what I have to lessen the burden on others when it is my time.

Now the original reason this topic came to mind has to do with Christmas. Another colleague and good friend of mine gave me and my son Christmas presents on the last class before the holidays. He is British and we have both been living in Japan many years and pretty well acculturated to Japan. I say this because in Japan the culture is once a gift is given there is a reciprocal expectation.

When I came home that day with the unopened gifts, my wife gave me a burdensome look, a look that says, “Now we have to give him a return gift.” I knew what she was thinking and replied, “I gave him some mikans (tangerines).” Unfortunately, the gifts we received were far more expensive than the measly mikans I gave him. You see, reciprocal gift giving implies that the price of the gift must be equivalent.

My son, having just gotten home from school, saw the present and we gave him the okay to open it. We opened our presents in unison. I tore open the wrapping (old habits die hard) and my son meticulously unwrapped each section so as not to tear it.

My son received ...

I received ...

You may all be thinking, ”It was nice of him to give such good gifts.” Yes, that may be true he was kind to give us these gifts. Here is the bah-hum dinger, I bought my son the exact Battleship board game a few months back as an alternative to his video game playing. And I already have two bike pumps. At this point things have compounded on multiple levels.

1. We are expected to reciprocate and give gifts back.
2. We have a choice to return the Battleship game and pump or keep them and let them become part of our accumulating stuff.

I chose a middle ground – return the Battleship game and keep the pump.

I brought the game back to my friend the next class. And here is where it got ugly. With an angry annoyed tone he said, “Why didn’t you go to the local post office and return it? I emailed you the Amazon return forms.” My reply, “It was the holidays and I didn't have time.” Muttering under his breath, ”Well that’s the last time I give you any gifts.” I could have come back with the fact that we didn’t want any gifts I am your friend and there is no need to do anymore than that. I could explain the cultural expectation of my wife having to now return a gift. And I could have gone on to explain that maybe in this day and age it is best to either ask if there is anything we need or simply give a gift card to choose what we need. I chose to say nothing and simply let him stew in his own annoyance the rest of the day, which he did.

By now you may be getting the picture of just how much a burden gift giving can be. Maybe you are not and see if from a different perspective. I won’t go into too many details in the following list about why gift giving is burdensome, but read on and you may begin to see it differently.

Burden #2 – Consumerism – Unsustainable.

Burden #3 - Not minimalism – See Ken‘s great article on minimalism.

Burden #4 – Reciprocation – Birthdays, Christmas, Anniversaries

Burden #5 - Assuming the person wants it or already has it.

Burden #6 - Destroying the planet.

Burden #7 – Financial – Going into debt to buy gifts.

Burden #8 – Wrapping – More planet destroying waste.

Okay by this time you may thinking, ”This Allen guy sure is a crotchety old(er) guy.” Maybe, maybe not.

I do have a few alternatives that may score me points on the side of not crotchety.

Alternatives – Donations on behalf of the recipient. Perishables. Items only the person needs. Gift cards.

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After the recent Bitrue exchange saga due in large part to a misinterpretation by what is called an “Influencer” I wanted to delve into what makes someone an influencer? What does it take and why him and not me, or you for that matter?

Let me start at the beginning? Early on my wife and I had a significant amount of XRP on a Japanese exchanged called Coincheck. As some of you recall, if you were around at that time, the exchange experienced one of the largest thefts of any coin ($534 million, you read that right) in the short history of crypto. While the coin NEM was stolen, the consequence, any coin on the exchange was immediately frozen for many months as regulators and the company sorted it out. Note the word regulators.

NEM Coincheck article

Japan back then already had regulations in place to protect its customers. While we did not have access to XRP to trade or safeguard, having to leave it on the exchange, there was some relief knowing an outside entity was handling everything. Things were eventually sorted out and Coincheck has been back up and running. I am now using Bitflyer, but only because the UI is much better.

Fast forward to last year. As you know Bitrue had a breach and XRP and Cardano coins totaling more than $4 million were stolen. Hands in head shaking, no not again! I was concerned that maybe it is bad luck following me around and I am not meant to be investing in crypto. Well that was short lived as the CEO was straight up transparent with what went on and what they were doing. And he assured the customers that their coins would not be lost.

Bitrue HACK

Sure enough after a short amount of time a few weeks, as opposed to Coincheck’s months, they were back up and running. A sigh of relief. To me a sign of a decent company is how they handle things in a crisis. Do they shut themselves off, or are they transparent? Bitrue was the latter. And from that point on I knew, along with their insurance they have on all the coins, that they are legit and working to remain that way.

Now mind you I am not naive to keep all my crypto on an exchange, just a small percentage. I’ve been through the ringer a few times having learned my lessons.

I bring this backstory up as a segue into the topic at hand, influencers. Why is someone considered and influencer? In short, they have created a brand for themselves, have a large SNS following and in theory know what they are talking about, among other things.

What makes this person more legitimate than say our dear old friend “Hodor?” Clearly an influencer in his own right. He was branded, HELL he was HODOR! He had a large loyal following. And he sure knew what he was talking about. I am sure he is hodling a large bag of XRP, and needed no money for his influencing. Although I know people sent him tips and even made money off the COIL site for a little while I bet. My sense about someone like Hodor is that he legitimately wrote about the merits of Ripple the company and XRP because he wanted educate the masses on the potential, as we all know.

Here is where someone like Hodor differs and what I align myself with when it comes to writing. He has a voice, perspective, and narrative that is consistent. He does not write to Kowtow to masses. He writes from something he believes in and from experience. He did not start from the place of making money or to gain fame and followers. He put it out there and they came. Now I could be completely wrong and misjudged him, but it does seem there are more people than not that feel the same way about him as I do.

Herein lies the problem. I posit that most influencers start with wanting to make money first and foremost for themselves and the company or coin or product they are influencing. Is this wrong? Well this is where the debate begins. I believe it blinds them in many ways to the reality. In the case of the Bitrue influencer / ambassador it was clear that it was all about the “Benjamins.” Why else would he react the way he did when Bitrue decided to go in a different direction with payments to their ambassadors. If he really was about educating the masses and transparent he would not have reacted the way he did thus affecting many including Bitrue. To me this is straight up greed. I am sure many are going to argue, what’s wrong with that? The answer, nothing if that’s all you are in it for.

I would say that an influencer needs to be straight up about what they are doing. Like Bitrue and Coincheck who were both transparent during their issues, influencers need to be honest, transparent along with one of my favorite words, have some integrity. I don’t follow these types of people, but there are so many out there who are clueless and taken by these types who lack in all the above.

Crypto is a world full of people wanting to get rich quick with very little effort put forth or patience. They would rather have someone do the so-called work and just invest. This is where influencers, ambassadors call them what you will take advantage.

When this saga went down the other day, like many, maybe most, I reacted by pulling what I could out of the Bitrue exchange. Some remain and will continue to. Then I took a breath, stepped back, did some research and sure enough came across a slew of apologies from this influencer to his followers and Bitrue’s CEO Curis Wang. He said he had misinterpreted the communication between the two during a video chat. I wonder how much this one mistake cost Bitrue and more importantly its users? All because of a greedy influencer who no longer got his way.

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With commitment comes freedom. With restrictions comes freedom. With discipline and awareness comes freedom. Commitment to truth and honesty results in freedom and not worrying about any kind of extenuating circumstances that might impede on life.

I know that in the end this is all an inside job and once that is in order things on the outside are much easier. This takes a rigorousness, willingness and commitment to live that kind of life.

Everything in life emanates from within. Every decision, every moment I strive to be of service to others and the world in some form or another. My decisions during this life have all led me to wanting to be in this place. This is what I have always wanted, but didn't know it.

Youth is all about experiences and as much as possible. Now it is really about letting those experiences gel into some form of a voice letting it take shape and using that voice for the good of others.

Surrendering is the key, letting go and being open and willing not knowing exactly the meaning, nor where life will lead. Just being open. I do not pretend to have a clue about what it is that will happen in the future.

What I do in this world is not all that important and yet I try to give it all from a place of love. Trying to be in that place as much as possible throughout the day is what I strive for.

That takes commitment.

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I sometimes think I have no limits. What I mean by that is that my mind tells me I can do what I used to be able to when I was in my 20s, but my body says otherwise.

Going out for a bike ride this morning I pushed myself to the limit riding at the front of the group averaging 33km/hr. I am sure those behind me obliged letting me lead. The reason, riding behind someone allows them to enjoy the slipstream, which means the person riding at the front blocks the wind and anyone riding behind uses up to 30% less energy to ride the same speed.

I did this for kilometers on end. And yet those behind me continued to let me be at the front doing all the work. I eventually slowed down to let someone else do the work at the front so I could enjoy the slipstream and recover.

I am realizing as I age that there are limitations. What I could do I no longer can. Seeing some of my riding buddies who are more than half my age just cruise along with no problem in a completely different gear, meaning a faster one is humbling. I have a few fast gears internally, but no longer that gear top gear. That right there is a limitation.

As I get older the gears drop away. I do not have top end gear any longer that is sustainable for any extended period of time. And then when it comes to climbing in the mountains ...

... while I have improved and can do it, I am not a climber by nature, never was never will be. I climb and can hold my own against many, but pit me against any of the younger riders and forget it. That is a limitation.

Also I am limited by my recovery time. After a long ride (125km – 180km) I come home fried, meaning exhausted barely able to walk up a flight of stairs. I know I cannot and must not do the same level of intensity and riding the next day. Usually I am flat out on the couch after a nice healthy recovery meal. Needless to say, that night sleep is amazing.

What I do have to counter limitations is experience being smart about my training, allowing for recovery and alternative exercise such as weight training, down time, (periods of no exercise) good sleep and healthy foods. When I pose the question “What is life asking of me now,” I am really asking my body what do I need? And I listen.

There are any other areas of my life in which there are limitations. I know time is a limitation. And with that I need to use my time wisely. And this is something I can pay attention to. It seems to be so far so good. As my life gets busy with teaching, exercise, a social life, bike guiding, writing (blog and book) and of course family, I need to use time in an efficient manner not spending time frivolously on social media and other time wasters. .

Limitations – Life in and of itself is one and we only have one.

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Recently in the CBC (Content Builders Club) telegram group someone said, “I have not been writing in a while and out of step with my rhythm.” It got me to thinking about a topic related to this – Everything.

Everything is fodder for writing. Truly, if one remains open and observing the world, even the smallest experiences can be a place to start writing. Take my recent post on “Humor in Everyday Situations,” This is exactly what I am talking about. Sit and observe and it will come. It does not necessarily have to be funny, it will be what it wants to be.

This is especially true in such a unique place like Japan. I am sure it is true in the US or anywhere else in the world for that matter. I just happen to be living in Japan. Although I will add that one cannot force creativity to happen, but you can kickstart it. If it's not there, then the key is to go easy on yourself and come back when ready.

I know people talk about writers block. I have experienced it only a few times, but not the extent that it is debilitating, just a day here and there. I wonder if someday that I will reach that point of debilitation? It feels like if my style is to write and expand upon the littlest of life experiences then I can never really run out things to write about.

I sat down the other day came up with a title to a new short story “New Day Rising,” comparing my early days of being a punk rocker and one of my favorite hometown bands, “Husker Du,” and the music scene in Japan.

I hammered out a paragraph to start the process and as a reminder where to continue. Literally as I type this I am getting more ideas to add … hold on. Okay I am back. Now where was I?

Anything in life can be a topic in which to start from. There are no boundaries.

Open

Ready

Willing

is my motto. I am all that these days having put together an incredible amount of words. Not that it is anything like brilliance, it is simply practice for developing a voice and perspective. These days it is observances of everyday life, memories of my past or a blend.

I sometimes wonder if I am spreading myself to thin doing it all? Warm ups, blog posts, short stories and the book? It does not feel like it and somehow all connected. This has been the way it's been for a long time.

Openness is key to everything!

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