"Take this time to go into any other poses your body needs"

This is what one of the yoga instructors says at the end of each of her classes.  But when she asks this though she already has us lying in corpse pose. what other pose does my body need? really? i'm already in it. my body needs corpse pose. its the one place where i feel like, hey, i could meditate like this.

I've been going to as many free yoga classes as possible while I am here. i love it. how can you not love a form of exercise that you can keep your eyes closed during the whole time if you wanted to? how can you not love a form of exercise that enourages you to find strength in your breathing and feel the energy and your body and you can ACTUALLY feel the energy go int your arms so that you can balance in Crow.

Yesterday I made my second bus trip to Naha. There is something about finding your way somewhere (and back, this is important!) that is so satisfying. I think I shocked and maybe inspired a few people on base with my getting on a bus to go to Naha. This second trip was really nice, I found a better route that got me there much faster and a little cheaper too. I got a little anxious when the bus started turning off the main highway and i could no longer be quite certain where to get off but then it turned again and i was happy to find myself on the familiar main shopping drag of Naha and got off.

My goal was to find the pottery village that was not far from where I was. I found the road that would take me there according to my map but the road only went right and i needed to go left, so i turned down one of the covered shopping streets. i found myself in an expanisve indoor public market. some of the streets were wide but i also wandered down a few smaller alleyways lined with tiny tiny shops and little restraunts that you'd hardly know were shops and restraunts they were so tiny.

on base I can completely forget I am in Japan let alone on a small island in the middle of the ocean. it felt good to get out into japan.  i really liked the public market. nothing to exciting but a wonderful mix of stores selling tourist junk, antique junk (i found a nice sake cup for 50 yen), cheap everything stores, and vendors selling vegetables and fish heads, complete with little eyes staring at you. i almost stopped to take a picture of this but its harder to be the tourist when you're the only one, so i just took it all in and walked on. i marvelled how familiar all of japans strangeness and eccentricities were becoming. its really such a blessing to be here for two months. long enough for fish heads and squid balls to become common place. this made me happy.

i dipped into a store that was selling lots of inexpensive household, mainly kitchen things to look at the ceramics and other odds and ends. i walked in a started digging through some chopsticks to see if there were any nice ones. this older lady suddenly appears beside me and sits down on a little chair. i assumed she had just come off the street. i have often seen little old ladies, who carry these folding chairs, sit down and take a rest. but there was something about her manner that made me feel like she was keeping an eye on me, so i decided to test my theory, i rounded the corner casually and begin looking at some dishes. sure enough she moves her chair around so she can still see me. i immediately smile and think this is going to make a good story!

it wasn't as exciting as i hope but i certainly kept her busy, i wandered around the whole store. and each time i was out of sight, i'd soon here the creak of her chair as she plopped down on it nearby. it was making me smile so much i thought i'd burst out laughing, i was really afraid i would do this as i passed her with a nod, trying so hard to be unphased by her pursuit. but i just thought it was hysterical that she had to watch me in this way. when i finally picked something up i wanted to buy i made sure to hold it out very publically so she would know i did not intend to slip it down my pants, or whatever she must have expected. it made my shopping experience much more exciting, i loved the whole show!

at this same store i happened upon a big fat kitty, with a sign by it which i am sure said  'Do not pet' but i did anyway and he droolled and i smiled. we shared about 10mins of pure happiness before i moved on. didn't want the lady to think i would snatch the cat.

I really cannot believe i found the pottery village so easily, i had really stopped trying to find it. i took a few random turns and though i would ask someone eventually how to get there. but then i found a sign pointing to a pottery museum and there i found the little pottery street. it was a picturesque street with litterally house after house that had been converted into a shop or studio or both. at first i wasn't sure i really liked the Okinawan pottery, the colors and designs, the ever present Shi Shi Dogs:

I went into shop after shop, everyone uses the same styles and colors and patterns but it is not like in a tourist area where you see that repitition and realize these are mass produced tourist items, they are all handmade and painted, it is simply the style used. but seeing so much of the same things is still somewhat unappealing if you don't like the styles. But soon I found some patterns that I really loved and picked a few pieces. in one shop, and this happens to me often here, my interaction with the shop owner tickled me so much i was just smiling like an idiot about my purchase or maybe just being there, who knows, but i was happy and i hoped i wasn't weirding him out. i love pottery and it was a good thing because after about the 15th shop i just couldn't go into one more. 

i wandered slowly back down the street and through the market and back to the main street looking for bus stop that would take me back to Kadena. while i was waiting for the bus, satisfied by the day, i really took in the change in my mood. Richard from Texas in Eat Pray Love often talks with Elizabeth Gilbert (the author) about how she has the power to determine her feelings. she is kind of shocked and awed by this notion, and i think it is easy to forget. i am reminded when i see a little kid having a melt down. and i remember what that felt like when I was upset about something and I just wanted the whole world (or at least my parents) to know that I was sad. and i'd cry as long as possible, trying to drag it out. i didn't understand then but i made the choice to feel sad and i did so powerfully. so now sometimes i find myself in a bad mood and its right there where I have the choice to embrace the bad mood because i want the whole world to know or to smile and shake it off. and its a really great feeling when i choose to smile.

i had been in a bit of a funk off and on most of the week for no particular reason, which is always so irritating because then I start searching for a reason and well that just pushes me deeper into the funk. but this funk lifted so easily yesterday, which felt good. i hopped on the bus and settled comfortably in for the ride. i even pulled out my ipod to listen to music for the first time since i've been in japan. i was all smiles on the bus, it had been a really really nice day. i was filled up with smiley happiness and the music lifted me up even higher.

on my way home, i picked up Vince (3yrs)  and he "helped" me walk the bike i had ridden all the way back. we went home and enjoyed a lovely hour. this is the time he likes me around the most and i love it. i was sitting behind him at the computer while he had a snack and we started playing a game. he does this all the time where he'll say "Cousin megan i can't see you" (like if i'm in the bathroom or the kitchen or something) so we played this for awhile and i said i love you, and he said i love you too and i said thanks (because he says this sometimes) and he said your welcome. and i just felt happy.

then we went and hid under a blanket so the monsters wouldn't see us. definitely a good day.