Hello Goodbye

Greetings and welcome to the newly renovated TaroGold.com. We opened this new site on the first day of Spring this year, and since then I’ve been giving a lot of thought to changes, particularly beginnings and endings.

Thankful to say hello to Spring last month, I thought I could soon say goodbye to the string of cold weather in Tokyo. Not to be – it was so cold last weekend if it had rained I felt like it would snow! The seasonal cycle of hello goodbye stretched out a bit longer.

Around the same time that Spring officially began, my grandmother fell ill, and another kind of hello goodbye began for me. When grandma was first admitted to the hospital, her doctors said she would live only a few days. Family members rushed to say goodbye. That was almost two months ago now. Although goodbye will come, no one knows exactly when. Today, grandma is still smiling, still laughing, telling us she doesn’t know either. One thing we do know, we have to make the most of our time between each hello and goodbye. Isn’t that the most rewarding knowledge of all?

Beginnings and endings – punctuation marks, dotting the paragraphs that make up the story of our lives. Let the punctuation marks do their job, but focus on creating the best life in between. A script filled with happiness, sadness, ups, downs, lots of questions, not so many answers… all leading to growth, openness, hope. Everything worth remembering from yesterday, doing today, and dreaming for tomorrow.

The eternal cycle of hello goodbye reminds me to create my own lines, weaving colorful words through whatever punctuation points comes along in life. Joy is not found in the stops and starts of hello goodbye. Joy is in the middle, the flow, the now. That is the sweet and simple secret every hello goodbye hides inside.

Sunset at Moonlight State Beach

Sitting by the wide blue ocean near my grandma’s home at Moonlight Beach, the sun said goodbye again today. Then the moon said hello. How can I be sad that the radiant sun has said goodbye when the shining moon says hello? So goes the flow of hello goodbye, forever perfect in glorious detail.

By the time you read this, I’ll be watching the sun and moon over Brazil, where the Portuguese edition of my book Open Your Mind, Open Your Life (Abra Sua Mente, Abra Sua Vida) is being honored by bookstore chains in the grand cities of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Brasilia. If you enjoy the good fortune to have a Brazilian friend, then you know how Brazilian people savor each moment of life, celebrating every hello and goodbye as if it was their first and their last, cherishing every moment in between. Viva Brasil!

Cover image, Brazilian edition of Open Your Mind, Open Your Life

Many friends around the world have encouraged me to spend more time in Brazil for that very reason, and here’s a happy chance to do so. After Brazil, it’s on to Mexico for a family retreat in Punta Mita, then back to beloved Tokyo and collaborating with great minds for the upcoming special-editions of my books in Japanese. Until my next post here, my next online hello goodbye, may you live always in the sublime light and power of your unique now. Ciao!