Homeless and Happy

Another travel day. Often, travel days mean long-distance trains, but today we basically stayed in exactly the same spot. We’re staying in Tokushima another three nights, just—mercifully—at a different hotel. Our last three nights in Japan. Thus, having checked out at 11am, with four hours to spare, we took off to wander the streets.

Judging by the looks of several locals, I’d guess it isn’t awfully common to see two foreign backpackers walking past your workplace at 12pm on a Monday in Tokushima. For us, travel days have had a tendency to be a downer sometimes. Whilst the thought of being tethered to no single place and carrying all you need on your shoulders may feel liberating, it is also scary. Having certainties to cling to brings immense safety. In this transient state, you often feel more homeless, rather than some empowered nomad.

Today, we passed the time by simply sitting in a park for four hours. Honestly, it was amazing. The sun was out, making the temperature just warm enough that you occasionally considered taking your jumper off. Birds chirped. The river flowed. Kids played all around.

Time went quickly. We chatted on a bench. I lay down in the grass and took a sorely needed nap. I finished reading Ikigai. But perhaps what brought the biggest smile to my face was simply watching life unfold around me. Young kids dressed in matching pink uniforms ate together alongside us. Boys ran along the river boardwalk, waving at every single boat that passed by and playing scissors-paper-rock with those on board. Men in suits emerging from the bank to enjoy their lunch out in the sunshine. It was nice seeing regular people go about their day—young and old—from a fly-on-the-wall perspective. It was nothing special, but it was deeply comforting.

As we’ve become accustomed to here, stray cats always seem to pop up in our periphery. It’s been a fun exercise to try and spot them wherever we go. The tabby we found today kept reappearing from the same position. Curious, we decided to investigate. This cat had a home! A little, blanketed crate, sheltered underneath a wooden deck extending from the park. When we crept over, it was laying down in the adjacent water pipe, alongside bowls of food and water. It lived here, peacefully by the river. Later, we watched as a woman came over and topped up the little food bowl. Animals always seem to warm the heart. There were plenty of pigeons, too. They were only occasionally annoying. In their own way, reminiscent of home though, too.

A day spent in limbo, but one enjoyed thoroughly. It came as a bit of a surprise in all honesty. It helped to remind me that I don’t need all that much to feel content a lot of the time. You make your own happiness. Even without any plans, without a place to stay, and without a purpose, you can always just observe life around you. It think these kind of days provide a good catalyst for being more present and creating space to just reflect and think. It felt to me like a day spent lying next to the beach, just listening to the waves. I like that.