I feel incredibly embarrassed that over a year has passed since my last entry. I recently got motivated again to write after I saw a new blog post from my childhood friend, who had let her blog lapse as well. As always with the passage of a large interval of time, many things have happened since I last wrote here.
For one, I am no longer in Japan. I left the country in November of last year, and the readjustment to the Western lifestyle has been a challenge to say the least. I never had any homesickness when I went to Japan, but I have had a terrible case of reverse homesickness that doesn't seem to be letting up.
Why did I leave? There were several reasons, from wanting a change to lack of professional growth, etc etc., and my lovely peer coaches and friends helped me greatly through this process. I was able to use several of the tools that I learned through my coaching courses to make an informed and heartfelt decision.
My coaching has been on somewhat of a hiatus since I returned almost 9 months ago (the time has just FLOWN by) while I have gotten used to mundane things like driving everywhere (annoying), writing checks (super annoying), and sorely missing all the conveniences of Japan.
Though with all my lamentations about leaving my second home, there is something very refreshing and liberating to feel like you are finally on your own path, on your own terms, with dreams and goals fully laid out. Though I loved Japan dearly, what I was doing there for work was just to pay the bills, and I felt that I was suffocating and not living up to my true potential.
The hardest thing to keep in mind during the dark times, when I was scared to leave Japan, scared that I was making a big mistake that I wouldn't be able to undo easily, scared of having to leave my social circle of loving and supportive friends, was that you always have to keep moving forward. Doors will always open for you. It could be doing something as simple as choosing to eat at a new restaurant for a change, where you could meet someone who might change your life forever, or even going to a different gas station to get gas. Change is a constant. You have to be open to it or you invite a lot of frustration and suffering.
I am looking forward to this new path in my life and where it will take me. I still consider what's going on now just a transitional thing and things will all fall into place with a little positive thinking and patience.
