梅まつり。。。

Hi everyone!

Temperatures were a little warmer today so I had a Starbucks and lunch with my husband.  After he went to work, I went to Yushima Tenmangu.  Now it's 梅 season (plum blossoms).  Unlike さくら (cherry blossoms), 梅 last only a short time usually mid-February to March.  I almost always forget about 梅 season because it's not a prevalent as さくら but we have an 梅 tree at work, so I knew it was time to get out and see some 梅。

 梅 flowers are really beautiful and if you're in Tokyo around this time, you should check them out.

節分。。。

Today is 節分 which marks the start of spring though it's hard to see it when there is snow in the forecast for this week.

節分 and 豆撒き in addition to welcoming spring are supposed to drive bad luck and poor health out of the household thus welcoming good fortune into the house.

I notice a lot of change in the world right now.  It seems to fall in line with the spirit of 節分 and that's good.  There are birthday celebrations, engagements, pregnancies, babies being born, and people changing jobs.  All of these are natural every day occurrences, of course, but I see them happening in bulk on my Facebook news feed.

I'm happy for those welcoming beautiful changes with this coming spring.  As of right now I have no welcome change to report.  My life (I don't want to say stagnant because that has a negative connotation), it flows slowly and steadily with no major peaks.  There have been some dips but I don't want to get into those now lest I have to relive those difficult moments again.

I don't really have a point here, I guess.  To my friends, I am happy for your joyful life changes.  If you haven't had a happy change then I hope some joy comes to you this year in some way.