I've got you locked in my mental clock. When I meditate, I go back to our first date. A different time that no longer exists. I say I don't need anyone; yet, my dream persists. I step into the stream where I last danced with you. If everything isn't true, then why do I still love you? - +positive masters+, Jon Riki Karamatsu, 4/23/2020 - ✒ This love poem was inspired by my first novel (unpublished) about a young politician, Ken who's miserable with the adversity in his career until he meets a young woman, Kaylee in a coffee shop in his dream - only this is not a dream but a place where lost souls are trapped. As he helps...
I recently watched The Florida Project on Netflix, a movie by Sean Baker about the innocence of kids making the most of their lives despite being poor. I cried. No matter what problems you have, there's so many other people facing tougher challenges. What an amazing movie, with both playful humor and heart-wrenching drama! The link to the preview of the The Florida Project is below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwQ-NH1rRT4 My heart melts for the children going through so many difficulties. Resiliently, many of these kids are still able to find ways to have fun. In my second novel, I wrote about the adversities the children in Iraq faced after the invasion by the U.S. I'm still pitching this story to the literary industry. I...
None of us can predict when and how we will die. If you can fully embrace the unpredictability of your death, you will truly live in the present and appreciate every moment before you now. - +positive masters+, Jon Riki Karamatsu, 1/20/2020 - On Thursday, January 17, 2020, my mom called my cell phone. Her voice was filled with elation and joy, "Mia got the job at Stanford University!" My younger sister Mia is a trauma care doctor, a partner of a group of medical doctors at California Pacific Medical Center at San Francisco, California. "Oh man, I'm so happy! I'm so happy for her! This is awesome!" My voiced cracked with joyful laughter. My mom continued, "Earlier, I heard dad cheer, 'Wohoo!'...
5 Benefits of reading fiction: 📚📖 (1) Fiction expands your imagination. You visualize the characters & scenes. 😃 (2) Fiction motivates you to be the hero in your life. In most novels, the protagonist faces obstacles to become a hero. Win or lose, you respect the protagonist for his/her tremendous efforts. Likewise, you can do the same in your journey. 👊 (3) Fiction helps you empathize for others. When you read fiction, you empathize for the characters undergoing hardship, an important quality to have in your life and career. ❤️ (4) Through fiction, you learn different styles of writing that aren't usually shown in nonfiction books. 🖋️ (5) Fiction reduces your stress by taking you into other worlds and...
Part 2 of 3: Live the middle way. From the middle, you can see the light in every dark situation.From the middle, you can see the connection between dark and light because from the middle, you can see everything, dark, light, and all the shades in-between. Darkness won't consume you because you've trained yourself to see the light, even if it's only a speck, which will make you appreciative of your life in your darkest moments. Nor will you be blinded by light and overlook the darkness hidden beneath it all so you'll be ready for any negativity that could emerge. In Part 1, we talked about how we humans are prone to judging others. We can also be very...
