What is Your Life Made of? There are people who call themselves foodies, yet the food they seek can be completely different. Some travel from one Michelin-starred restaurant to another, or even set aside part of their salary each month just for the chance to dine at one. Others save their money to travel the world in search of authentic street food. Speaking of traveling, I also know people who call themselves travelers. But this, too, can take many different forms. One day, during a trip, I had dinner with friends from different countries. An Australian friend shared how he…

Do You Remember When? Several days ago, I met up with old friends. For some of us, it had been about 10 years since we last saw each other. We first met more than 20 years ago during a journey across Indonesia. It didn’t take long for us to realize that we had a lot in common, despite our different ethnicities and religions. During the reunion, we laughed about the joys and frustrations we had shared on those trips. Every time a memory resurfaced, someone would say, “Hey, do you remember when we…” and the stories would just keep flowing….

How Does Time Fly in a Butterfly? A few days ago, I watched a YouTube video about Jo Nagai (10), who discovered that butterflies can pass down memories to their offspring. But Jo didn’t arrive at this conclusion all of a sudden. It all began when he noticed that the butterflies emerging from the caterpillars he had raised in his home laboratory remembered him. In an interview, Jo expressed his delight at realizing that the butterflies remembered him. One of his butterfly partners looked exactly like this butterfly from a lavender farm in Furano, Japan. I wonder if this butterfly…

Soar and Roar One day, I watched a documentary about a pet dog in America. Every morning, the dog acted as if he had completely lost his mind. He barked and barked—louder than a rooster waking the whole house. He jumped onto the sofa, barked at the door, crawled under the table, barked again, then leaped around the room, clearly in great distress. But as the sun climbed higher, he would calm down and become the gentlest dog on the planet. Then the next morning, he would start his “extravagant morning calls” all over again. His family couldn’t figure out…

Artificial Cleaning Service You might not believe this is Indonesia, but it is. With the help of Photoshop, I cleared the river and even “raked” the grass. Zooming in to 200%, circling one piece of trash after another, made me feel disgusted—as though I were picking up every piece with my bare hands. Three or four years ago, I didn’t care much about environmental conservation. “Most people don’t care anyway. Whatever I do won’t make the slightest difference.” So went my excuse. But then, I remembered my love for landscape photography. How selfish am I to expect clean rivers, blue…