Shinto Blog

I decided that I was going to watch “The Peach Orchard.” I chose this video because I thought it had the best title out of all the other options. I thought that the video was very colorful and would probably be a very good movie to watch if I had time to watch the whole thing. What I like also about this movie clip was the beautiful music that was being played when then peach orchard started to bloom. After watching the video I still cannot figure out why he was asking repeatedly about one of the six little girls that apparently went missing. I am guessing that it was some magical or spiritual “whatever” that was suppose to lead him to outside.

How does this movie clip related to what I learn in class and from reading the Shinto slides is a very hard question to answer. I am going to be honest and say maybe the concept and how it relates flow over my head because I do not understand how it relates at all.

While reading the slides it did mention that they are very big on festivals. The people on the hill told the little boy that they will not return back to his house because his family cut down the peach orchard trees. The trees are used to celebrate the arrival on “Doll Day.” The trees are used for personification; the people on the hill talking to the little boy represent the spirit of the trees and the life of the blossom. What happen after the people told the little boy about not coming back I think is the cutest thing ever. He starts to cry and they ask him, “Why are you crying because you like peaches?” Then the little boy replied, “No, because peaches can be bought but what you cannot buy is a whole orchard in bloom.” After the little boy said that, they all decided that he deserves to see the peach orchard trees bloom once more and so they started perform their music and the trees reappeared. I thought that piece was the best part in the whole movie clip.

THE TAO OF POOH by Benjamin Hoff

I thought the book was very cute and I was able to learn a lot from reading it. I love Winnie the Pooh so it made it that much enjoyable to read because they used the characters in the book. Some of the other books this semester has been very dry and I would lose focus will reading them but not with this book. What I found to be very interesting in the book was the chapter called Cottleston Pie. On page 39, it said “a fly cant bird, but a bird can fly” which they said meant that “Things Are as They Are.” You cannot change things so stop trying to make something that does not work at all, work.  Everything in this world has its own purpose. Another thing I found very interesting is when the said that “when you know and respect your own Inner Nature, you will know where you belong and where you DON’T belong. That touch very close to home for me because I been dealing with an issue this past week and it help me to realize that I can not change what happen nor can I make something work if it is not meant to be.  

The bisy backsons chapter was a very insightful chapter. I feel that in America we are always constantly doing something, out and about trying to reach every goal possible just to reach the “American Dream.” Hip hop mogul Diddy always proclaims that, “I’ll sleep when I die.” Yea that is nice in all but we just need to learn to relax and appreciate life now because once it is gone, it is gone forever.  I have a bad case of the bisy backsons as well. I am constantly on the go because of school and work that sometimes I do not have time to eat, barely get any sleep or I will go for weeks without seeing my friends. I am always looking at my watch and stressing about how much time I will have to complete everything I need to get done for that day. I decided after reading this chapter that I am going to try to practice just relaxing and stop stressing TIME!

I think that Taoism can be a solution to the problem that a lot of Americans have which is being so “BUSY.” In order for us to fix the problem we need to FIND time or at least MAKE time to relax and enjoy life. My plan is to start giving myself at least two hours a day of doing something that I enjoy so I can think and clear my mind and just relax