How to overcome sadness, Lithuanians can learn from the Japanese: tips that will help you see the world from a different angle

– What is the best way to start the morning?

– My morning starts in the afternoon. Japanese culture inspires me to plan, to take care of myself. At night, I avoid staying in front of the TV, I usually spend time talking with friends because it is a great way to talk, share. It is very important – evening prayer, as well as – bedding, so that sleep is comfortable, pleasant, that you wake up and greet the morning with pleasure. My morning is the continuation of a quiet afternoon, a comfortable sleep, and a pleasant awakening.

Japanese scientists say that the secret of human health is nature. Forest baths are necessary for our soul. My morning begins quietly, with Japanese green tea or wonderful coffee in a porcelain cup. Make sure the cup is beautiful. It is not used at night. I have a place by the fireplace at home, you can see a pine forest through the window. I am not trying to provoke myself into a particular state of mind. Sadness is also a kind of romanticism. The Japanese emphasize the realistic side of life. A cup of coffee with a dip in nature is what inspires. I read knowledge. Breakfast in various ways. I like cottage cheese, pancakes. The Japanese would be surprised to see curd for breakfast, they choose fish, rice, egg, wort soup. Music is also important.

I have had such this for about five years. Before that, of course, there were children, and the morning sunrise was completely different. He gets up, takes the children to school, makes breakfast, and goes to work. Now is my golden age.

I have an extremely embarrassing trait: There is no way I can go through the daily routine, I cannot force myself to go to bed early and get up early. How do those Japanese fall asleep at the fifth hour of getting up? I would like to put the regime in order next year and take up the good practices of the Japanese.

– Now and in winter we spend more time at home – What is the recipe for home comfort?

– I moved into a new house eight years ago. And again, I was inspired by the Japanese. It does not have luxurious furniture or luxurious interior details. The Japanese have been able to convey to me the thought that life is not perfect, there is no need to strive for perfection. The beauty lies in the imperfection. The Japanese have a beautiful saying: “Vabi sabi” (Lithuanian: discreet beauty). My comfort: in simplicity, harmony, peace, order. Comfort is an emotion created by family members. The interior is certainly not the most important, the prevailing environment, it is what matters. Ability to live at home without immersion in the material world.

– If your friends are upset, how do you comfort them, how do you support them?

– The Japanese have the phrase “Kokoro no kaze”. Until the 1990s, the Japanese said there was no depression. They called depression a cold of the soul, it’s like a cold syndrome. The Japanese recommend hardening both the body and the soul. If my friends break up, I don’t try to disappoint the same wave of sadness. It is very easy for me to see the strengths of that person, so I am starting to talk about what they could achieve. I’m talking about possible outcomes. In Japan, when there was an earthquake, I asked my friends how I could help them, they replied that the only help was not to talk about it. If there is sadness, there is no need to talk about it. So when my loved ones are upset, my effort is to see what that person can do better, perhaps to help with some specific action, energy booster.

– Where do you plan to travel next year or this winter, circumstances permitting?

– To the mountains. I adore the mountains. Stay in the mountains. That is what is missing the most. And of course a little to live in Japan.

– A recipe for good humor, would you share it with your readers?

– Recipe for good humor – a strange harmony. In Japan, there is a saying: “Gan bate” (Lithuanian: effort, test). Every day you make an effort, you fight for something, something is successful, something is not, some days are more full of emotions, others less. Without a goal, you cannot enjoy something or realize that you are enjoying it. Aiming for a goal is a recipe for good humor in all situations. My good mood recipe is “Gan bat”. The day will take one shade or another while you try to color it because it will have colors.

– Who supported you the most during the first quarantine?

– Cognitive. Very fun time. I am addicted to new information. Cognitively, I was able to learn Japanese freely, play sports, work. This is a cognitive challenge. How many options. The entire business worked from home, studied, played sports, cooked, read, listened to art studio lectures.

– What do you do or do when you feel very depressed or sad?

– There are two types of people: consumers and developers. If you belong to the second, it is not dangerous to be sad. Sadness exists, it is beautiful, there is no need to run away from it. If you are in your own right and attract the world, if you fully accept it, it is normal for you to resonate with all emotions and even rejoice for no reason. Sadness has its own charm. If you are a creator, there is no time to cry. Now is such a time, the world is shocked by a pandemic, just a fact, not a precondition for sadness, we have to adapt and keep living, improve ourselves, seek new knowledge.

The Japanese saying “Mono no avere” inspires me to accept everything that each day brings. American baptism is not glorified in any sacred mindset. The concentration, the presence of serenity, the allure of sadness, just what is happening now, is a cleansing of baptism, a desire to impress something for no reason. Now we are becoming more real, more pure. Charming.