Reflections after reading "The Hojoki"

The Hojoki was written by a Buddhist monk, Kamo-no-Chomei, in the 13^th century. This man left the city to live a solitary life. In his work he recounts the horrors that befell Kyoto during his life in the Kamakura period.  The writing is poetic, profound, and eye-revealing. Chomei’s struggle to find meaning in the world beyond the bindings of society is a human condition that is painted all over modern society. Do we not find stories both within ourselves and in others that sound familiar?

Chomei shares his view that life is hard and it is simply the case of the human condition. There is no satisfaction for each person will always want for more or less living in society. Troubles are produced by a society’s standards for those involved which results in the endless quest to find happiness. If an individual binds themselves to society they are forever conformed by the rules set before them. However, if you refuse to conform then you may be wholly rejected by others. How is a human supposed to find peace in any society in that case?

So I asked myself, what good are the materialistic goods of our modern day and age? I have met many unhappy people in my lifetime. I myself was unhappy growing up in a family with little money. My consolation was books and from that a thirst for knowledge grew. I was no longer completely unhappy as long as I had a book to learn and read from. I still desired materialistic goods as any child and my possessions grew when I was a teenager. I still wasn’t happy with all these things though.

I was not happy because I was not living my truth. Are our realities not created by ourselves through our choices and reactions? I found my truth through horses. Perhaps only fellow equestrians will understand the extent of my own “truth”. Horses are my passion and it is from them I have had my greatest happiness and inspiration. My choice in life is to follow horses wherever they lead me and write about them.

I enjoy modern comforts such as the computer and being able to travel by airplane. However, these are mere tools to achieving my greatest desire. My greatest desire is to record the relationship between human and horse in stories. I want my stories published because I want people to read about the healing power of horses. That is one reason I want to go to Japan. What is the relationship between man and horse there both in history and the present? There are many reasons why I am going to Japan. All I will say is that horses had a lot to do with my choice to go there.