7 Rules to Happiness – Japanese Style

Nina

8 years ago

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I’m a house crasher. I like to crash fellow bloggers homes, I’m especially drawn to small, uncomplicated
homes like bungalows and cottages. So last night I was visiting Japanese homes. Their homes are exactly
what I like – small, clean, orderly, uncomplicated, and how there’s significance in everything. Yesterday, I
was on such a journey when I came across this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpF9UlzkQ1c

The 7 Rules for Happiness Japanese Style

1. Don’t step on the edges of the tatami mats. This is particularly true for me. While I don’t have tatami
mats, we do have one carpeted room in the house and the rule is: absolutely no shoes! I consider it our
prayer room. A holy room, the room dedicated to G-d. Unfortunately, Tater missed the memo and no
matter what I do to keep him out of here he has on occasion used it as his indoor lavatory (a side-effect
to his thunderstorm terrors). I’m serious about this room – we’re putting him on an indoor invisible
fence and zapping some holy into him.

2. Honor your ancestors. Not only do we keep photos of our ancestors throughout the house, we keep
photos of others ancestors as well. Like this kindly old gentleman

he might of could have been related to me . . .maybe he was my great-great grandfather? I never have
seen any pictures of my paternal grandfather. You can’t see through this picture of his picture how full of
love and warmth his eyes are. Who knows what he experienced, what he saw, how many loved ones he
outlived, his eyes don’t reflect any bitterness or harshness, none of life’s batterings seemed to have
affected his soul. I can only imagine the stories he had to tell and the wisdom he had to offer. Anyway,
he’s somebody’s ancestor and I’m keeping him.
3. Appreciate simple beauty.

I’m an American-born of Guatemalan parents with a Japanese identity problem married to an all-
American hybrid. This is my interpretation of ‘simple beauty’. Cowboy and the Natives gave me this
painting one year for mother’s day. She’s utterly, unspeakably, simply beautiful with those peonies
behind her ears!

4. Respect sacred places. This one is tricky living with Natives as the Natives have their own sacred
places. Sometimes those sacred places are the exact ones that are supposed to be off-limits to them.
For instance, the front yard is an area Cowboy would like to consider sacred. He’d really like to
assimilate with the neighbors who have grass. Sometimes I think he suffers from lawn envy.
Unfortunately, the places he thinks he’ll grow grass is our Natives sacred burial, building and digging
grounds. They love to dig, build river communities (we’re learning about early civilization), and work on
irrigation projects in this locale. Cowboy’s considering sod, but I’m convinced it’ll give the Natives more
material for their maturing civilizations.

5. See How Art Reflects Nature. I was amazed at how much of nature is reflected in the art that we
have.

Cowboy found this picture in a retirement community he once worked at. It’s a handpainted water and
acrylic picture of two hummingbirds. It’s one of my favorite pieces. It really is very pretty. You’d have to
see it up close and personal to truly appreciate the skill and artistry involved.

6. Wear shoes outside. Wear slippers inside. I try to enforce this rule, not so much because it’s
“Japanese” of me, but because Natives will track in all kinds of disgusting things. The problem is it all
accumulates on one sad little rug by the front door

the Japanese solution for this is a ‘genkan’. I think I know of a certain Cowboy who can build me one.
7. Enjoy the 4 seasons. The seasonality of life: everywhere, in everything, all the time. My Natives are a
good reminder for this. Never again will I live through a summer when I had a 10-year-old, a 7-year-old
and a 2-year-old. As hard as my days are sometimes, the Natives are growing up right before my eyes – I
have to remember not to blink because the season will be over all too soon.