Three Weeks to Takeoff

The Fall 2018 issue of PostScript: The Magazine for Retired Educators containing my article on last year’s ikebana studies in Tokyo arrived in the mail this week. The editorial team did a particularly fine job of the layout and thanks to their skills in manipulating images made my amateur photos (shot in less than ideal conditions and without proper lighting) look fabulous.

Click the link and scroll down to page 10 if you’d like to see the results.

https://bcrta.ca/postscript-back-edition-pdfs/PostScriptFall2018.pdf

Today I am three weeks from takeoff for Japan. Everything I’ll need for two months is ready to throw into suitcases, and appointments for those last-minute things such as picking up currency and getting a haircut are scheduled.

At this stage it’s that paradoxical state of anticipation and dread, not unlike the slow climb toward the first descent of a roller coaster. Though I maintain a beginner mind-set and allow myself a great deal of latitude because I am a novice, the knowledge that I will be working alongside amazing artists and will be taught by master teachers is daunting. There’s something about being in the presence of greatness that elevates performance at the same time that it commands humility. The trick is to let the terror fuel the joy.

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