Here I am…
sitting on a bench next to a few strangers.
in a tram station.
in an old part of the city of Kyoto.
in Japan.
an island floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
on a planet we call Earth.
that travels through space, through the universe.
since nobody can even remember.

The evening chill,
cab drivers with white hand gloves
and classy-looking black cars,
the sound of a tram approaching with red eyes,
cutting slowly through the darkness of the city,
an old man reading a book with yellow pages
a girl in school uniform holding on her backpack
and a young Japanese couple in a warm embrace.
Riding a tram in Japan is a slow, jazz song.
I sit down quietly and look around.
I am living in a scene from a classical movie in 1936.

I travel the world teaching people how to go from a humble beginning, write a real life story, do something that matters for them and for the world and create authentic success in the process. That is only my work. That is what brings me peace, joy and meaning: to see other people stand their ground, defeat resistance and follow their dreams. But tonight I am a traveler on a tram, sitting quietly, thankfully at how peaceful this town is. I look around, wondering what stories these people have. What is their dream in life? I don’t know.

Going in the pursuit of dreams requires hard work and relentless commitment. Many days of effort, many days of learning, trying, hurting, failing, getting up and doing it again and again. But tonight on this tram, nobody cares about that. Not even myself.

So today, why not slow down and look how far you’ve got? Look behind in life and see how much you’ve accomplished. How many hurts you’ve overcome, how many battles you’ve won.

Welcome to today. It’s been a long journey and no matter where you are, you are successful.

Play some slow jazz music.
Listen to the street outside as you lie lazy in bed.
Kiss your loved one like you haven’t in a while.
Make love and forget about everything.

In the ancient Shinto tradition, the Japanese people honor three sacred treasures: the sword, the mirror and the jewel. The sword is the power of your voice, which you can use to hurt people or to protect them. Speak only kindness and share only truth. The mirror is the world and the only way to know yourself. You see in the world only what you expect and believe about it. The jewel is compassion.

Take a tram ride today.
Recognize a dear friend in everyone around.
Speak kindly to yourself.
It is only your thoughts that bring you fear.
You’ve been through a lot.
There is perfect peace in this moment.

And feed the animals in the park 🙂

Love grows only if you share it. @DrDragosB (Click to Tweet!)

Your friend,
Dr. Dragos

DR. DRAGOS – Internationally renowned scientist and filmmaker, director of the award winning documentary film, THE AMAZING YOU, featuring NASA legends, Rock stars, New York Times bestselling authors and the Angry Birds. Dragos spoke at conferences on five continents and his work has been translated in sixteen languages. You can follow him on Twitter or FB. 

Featured image courtesy of Lan Lanister.