some books to look forward to! :-D

hiya friends! I hope you're all well :-D, I know that I am! I'm really grateful not just to have a free schedule these days, but mental freedom, too. I'm starting to feel alive again, and I haven't even started taking vitamins yet! /j

I received a $50 gift card from my school during my graduation ceremony as a reward for ranking first in japanese continuers (LOL), and I figured that I should try to spend it responsibly, on things that will promote my character development into the next chapter of my life (as opposed to purchasing another nagoya obi, or kitsuke accessories... But don't worry, I was tempted!! /j), and what could be better for that purpose than books? I ended up buying two, and I probably could've gotten more, but I wanted to be really thoughtful and ensure that I'd get the most value out of them. considering I got free shipping on both of them, I think it's fair to say that although they're not even here yet, I already have! :-p

I bought:

1. 'ink dark moon', a compilation of ono no komachi and izumi shikibu's poetry. I really really love their literary styles! I think ono no komachi might be my favourite poet of all time. maybe I'll write a blog post with the highlights from the book! (I've got so many ideas for blog posts in general! I just need to find the enthusiasm to write them LOL) I'm so excited to dedicate energy to my beloved tanka again :-D the more I practice, the closer my literary voice gets to feeling authentic to the manner in which they were written back in the heian era. and that's such a rewarding feeling.

I'm also starting to think that tanka (or waka in general) are really underappreciated as a form of poetry (and of course, poetry itself tends to be undervalued as a literary art). case in point; earlier this year I entered a tanka into a local writing competition described by the teacher who proofread it as 'nothing like she'd ever seen before', and she seemed to really appreciate the delicacy of what I wrote, but it appears to have been completely lost on the judges. 

because of that, maybe I'll write a blog post about the true complexity of tanka and the skill they require? sure, they're short and simple poems, but that's a testament to how well they're written- not because they're low-effort. 

2. 'you are the one you've been waiting for' by richard c schwartz. to be honest, I was actually looking at two other self-help-adjacent books before I settled on this one, but I wasn't sure I'd actually get anything out of them :-p 

what set this book apart was that it follows the 'internal family systems' model of therapy, which I first heard about on forrest hanson's wonderful podcast, and am really intrigued by as a tool for treating complex behavioural patterns and neurologies. I also need an incentive to start reorganising my brain in some sort of productive way after spending so much of my day scrolling, especially because I want to study in related areas at university. the more I can learn now, the more effective I can be when conducting research, and the more I can get out of my education! 

if only I'd received another congratulatory giftcard from school (LOL), I'd definitely look into buying more books in this field! I even started to doubt my decision to purchase 'ink dark moon', because I knew I probably could've gotten another 'useful' book or two, and I had to remind myself that nourishing creative growth is as important as nourishing the emotional :-p 

it's my dream to consolidate all of the teachings across the leading therapies for complex trauma into something that makes sense on a (near-spiritual, if I could find a way to weave buddhism into it) collective level, to provide societies with the tools to take responsibility for healing themselves and one another, and to encourage their active interest in doing so. and the start of that path on which I meditated between exams is lined with as many (non-pop-)psychology books as I can get my hands on! :-)

I'll keep you all updated on these books as they arrive and are read! I've also got a running list of books already in my possession that I'd like to read now that I have all this free time, and it's possible that I'll publish discussions on them, too, when I get around to reading them :-) until then, stay safe and be well- and I'll see you again soon! ♡