Field Notes: The Temple

This is the third in our series of Field Notes from our Toad Warriors – the folks who hit the road and spread the Toad&Co ethos: Live well, do good and keep good company. They’re the people we’ve met over the years who embody the Toad lifestyle and practice what they preach. Jeff and Jen live in Santa Barbara, CA and are bonafide weekend warriors. Here are their Field Notes…. Kyoto is covered in sakura trees, or cherry trees. In late March the cherry trees blossom and people flock to see the pink and white flowers explode across the city. It’s a big deal in Japan. In fact, the national weather service tracks the movement of the “sakura front,” a wave that travels south-to-north every season and heralds the blooming of the sakura and the coming of Spring across Japan. We were in Kyoto when the sakura front hit. Kyoto is the historical capital of Japan, where traditional Japanese culture coexists perfectly alongside modernity. Shrines were full of worshipers in kimonos, businessmen and women bustled in downtown intersections and tourists flooded the monkey forest. Naturally, we had to sample everything Kyoto had to offer. We explored the city by following the cherry blossoms from temple to temple. Some were crowded with tourists and locals marveling and taking selfies with nature’s spectacle. And other temples were virtually empty. Tipped off by a local, we escaped up a hillside trail to sit in silence and bathe in the mountain light at one final temple. For almost an hour we were the only people there – or so we thought. We strolled the grounds and were surprised to see a smiling monk and his dog sitting quietly at the dragon fountain. There wasn’t much shared language between us, save for some laughter and light in our eyes. But we didn’t need to say much to fully understand each other. It was calm and silent – a full exchange. We stayed with the monk and his companion for an hour or so, then departed just as sweetly as we’d arrived. Arigato. Sayonara. Thank you for the talks.