Top Social

Image Slider

Stamp Saga Sequel

Monday, January 18, 2016

I first came to Japan in 2003, and the first 年賀状 (Japanese new year card) that I received was for the year of 2004 - the year of monkey. Since 2016 is another year of monkey, I came to realize that 12 years had passed since the time I received those cards with monkey bathing on an 温泉 (Japanese hot spring spa), or was it a 銭湯 (Japanese public bathhouse)?, anyway, they used the monkey to decorate the stamp.
 

And guess what, not only Star Wars saga that got a new sequel recently - it looked like the monkey also got a sequel in his bathing saga :-). If you compare the stamp of this year 年賀状 to that of 12 years ago, you’d see the monkey was no longer alone. An infant bathed alongside him. Japan post office left the explanation about the relation between the monkey and the infant to our imagination, but for me it looked like they are parent and child. Twelve years is a long period of time, and a lot of things must have happened on the monkey - including having an offspring :-).
 

Life is full of lessons, and if you ask me what can be learn from those monkeys on the stamp, I’d say it is the fact that life always changes, and you need to change for the better as time pass by. Come to think about it, I changed a lot compared to the boy that came to Japan 12 years ago - and I hope it was for the good :-). Well, unlike the monkey, I still don’t have an infant bathing together with me right now :-), but at least I’m not alone in my recipient address of this year 年賀状 - Farah is here now. But similar to the monkey, a lot of happen in the last 12 years span, both good and bad. I couldn’t control what happen to me, but at least I can choose what kind of impact it has on me, so I hope I was able to make use good of them – either the good things or bad things, I hope they were all left a good mark on me.
 

By the way, the 2004 new year card in the picture above was from Yanagida, and this year we were still exchanging new year card. The way to see it, how we change from complete strangers more than 12 years ago to a good friends like now, I amazed on how big the power of time - it can make you strengthen thing, or make it worse. Again, it is all up to us. And I’m glad I used the time to strengthen the friendship :-).