Day 160 of writing every day.
The way life becomes centered around work as an adult, and the disappearance of local communities that provide social connections to combat loneliness and isolation makes it hard for me to feel like I belong with any group of people in Japan. I’m sure there are places where people go to socialize but essentially pay to hangout together, which is quite different from just hanging out at a friend’s place or being some place where there’s people doing stuff together but it’s laid-back and not noisy.
Being in a noisy bar or club surrounded by strangers out with their own group is probably just as lonely as staying at home for me. I know I should be focusing more on learning the materials and building a portfolio without waiting on my mentor to check-in during the weekly lessons. But when I don’t feel connected to anything during the day and only have Aikido that’s still limited to what I currently do, it feels kind of empty at times.
My last job sucked in that pay was low and I felt like employees were treated like machines but less valued than actual machines. The motivation to work with them dipped when it became obvious they didn’t respect my time and believed it to be right to dictate what hours everyone works because the clients requests, no matter how odd, inefficient, or nonsensical, was all that mattered.
But even though work sucked, I still kept going in. Was it really about the money? We all got bills to pay, but I think part of the motivation to work is to belong, even if the people you spend the whole work day with aren’t your friends by any means. I think working from home was a struggle at times as well. Staying focused and on task for hours straight isn’t possible while alone at home the whole day, but I got things done on time and even ahead of schedule with time to spare.
Anyways, I’m feeling better after picking up writing this post Aikido practice. Being around people is important for a healthy and active life I think for many people.
Thanks for reading!
One Chance Works 