Imagine for a second, asking this question to someone you know, your wife, mother, father, brother, friend, colleague: what do you think when you think of me?

Imagine what pops into their heads? I guess the first thing that pops up would be the strongest image of you they have in their minds, and most likely all different from the image you have, of yourself. Then, there could be sub-versions!

You are different to you, your family, friends, co-workers. “You” have been battered, buttered, fitted, tunneled, changed, morphed, adjusted, encapsulated, formed, deformed, there is possibly an exhaustive list of adjectives that can be utilized to represent the transformation of your “image” before people make up their minds about you. Every person who notices you on street, train, shopping malls would take a “snap shot” of you from what they see of you, and make an image about you without even knowing you. You may see each other every morning for ten years without exchanging a word or even a smile, and the “snap shot” has morphed into the image you make of each other. I’ve had instances where what I had in mind about someone was completely different to what they were like in real life, so the version was upgraded in an instance.

So who are you? Isn’t it funny you think you know “you”? A different version of you exist for everyone who know you. But I guess there could be some common traits that would be common between all the versions that goes into making an image of you. For example, for your mom, you could be her favorite son who can do no wrong so lovely smiling young boy or girl; a golden egg laying goose for your employer, so probably a running belt in a factory; a drink partner for your co-worker, so a full and oozing mug of lager or an ass hole who made him look bad; a ka-ching pot of cash for your favorite restaurant, so a golden goose again, different you to different people.

Hmm..you live in other people’s minds, just like others do in yours, just like you have image of others, imagine. What about your boss, your neighbor,  your spouse? Is that the true “him” or “her”? It is only one of the many versions of someone you know.

I guess we should at least give a chance to ourselves to have an “open mind”. Now imagine

All Google had
was a slightly better algorithm,
only slightly,
than the other established gorillas in the field
Look what they did with it,
slightly better, can make or break
so its worth trying to be
slightly better
who knows?

Life goes on
In the garden in rain,
Different they might seem
they are all the same,
they all start under the earth
they all rise higher,
towards the Sun.

Tokyo in 2018 looks different from ten years ago. Somehow the mood seems solemn and quieter, people even more gentler, perhaps scared? Of what? You can still see young children, newborns in the malls, but the population is declining, threatening the entire bred. Mostly people look tired. So do the houses around Tokyo, worn out, grey and seem like waiting to die. This brings sadness. Because the Japanese are  the only remaining truly civilised nation in its entirety in the planet. It is one of those you have to be there to believe kinda things. I cannot imagine the culture shock they would get when they go to places like New York or Sydney, where arrogance and self centeredness have unfortunately become national character traits.

You have to take into account a lot has happened in the last ten years. Colossal Tsunami and nuclear disasters, massive earthquakes, economic upheavals and its slowing down, existential threats from wars and shrinking population, lack of workers have all shaken foundations of Japanese will power and perseverance. Yet they manage to smile at you in every interaction. Imagine a nation going through and has gone through such tremendous forces of nature, bombs and disasters and still managing to thrive amidst the neighbours calling for their blood.

Japan is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, top five surely. Even China cannot match the beauty, sophistication and grandness of its ancient architecture. The nature you see when driving out of Tokyo is breathtaking. Its not just the nature in isolation, because the country is densely populated, the mountains and valleys are dotted with beautiful picturesque villages full of local culture, taste and ancient temples. And the first thing you notice when you are about to land in Tokyo are the green paddy fields and power lines and towers. This in the most industrialised nation on earth. Ancient towns of Narita, Karuizawa, Kyoto that I visited are testament to how beautifully they lived and still do.

On my way back to home from Sydney airport, my cabbie was a Chinese. I was explaining to him about how polite the Japanese are, and he could not resist mentioning what they have done to Chinese in the past. I cannot see anything the current Japanese have to do with the evil deeds of their forefathers. Not pardoning of the horrendous crimes they committed, but I think the current Japan deserve forgiveness, it does not seem fair that the current and future generations have to keep on bearing the guilt.