Murakami

I'm still feeling unsettled. Yesterday I did 45 minutes of yoga which helped calm me down a little, but not as much as I would have liked. I signed up for an INFJ course on Quistic which is supposed to go live tomorrow, and I still haven't received the joining instructions. I sent one email yesterday and one email today, but there was no reply. I feel very edgy about this. I have been checking my email constantly. It's not a good feeling.

Normally I am able to calm myself down, but after being under stress for a long period of time, it takes time to adjust. I feel like I have been blasted apart into little fragments, and I need to pick myself up piece by piece and put myself back together. I like to relax by being by myself, doing yoga, listening/watching Okanokumo on Youtube and...most importantly...reading Murakami.

I discovered Murakami by chance. When I was home one Christmas, my Mom took 1Q84 from the library. The book cover was intriguing, and I decided to read it. I had never read Murakami before so I had no expectations.

Credit to: http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8mrg4nc7C1qaeg0mo1_1280.jpg

It's hard to describe how I felt when I first read 1Q84. It was like I had been put into a serene trance. Even though the storyline was strange, I felt that there was an undercurrent to his words that spoke to me and calmed me. Since then, I've read a number of his books and I feel that way every time. One book I keep on reading is 'South of the Border, West of the Sun.' It's quickly becoming one of my favourites.

I've learned that I express myself better in writing. When I'm speaking, I get too caught up in the moment and I'm unable to express the fullness of my emotions. When I'm writing, I can have time to think. Still, sometimes it's hard to find the perfect words...and that's where Murakami comes in. I've learned that there are emotions too complex to express in a few words. Sometimes you can only feel them when doing something different, like listening to music or reading a good book. Reading Murakami, I feel like I can dive into these types of emotion. When I'm caught up in the busy-ness of my life, I forget about them. They are swamped by stress and day-to-day obligations. Still, I always return to them when I read.