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For the love of cafes (Kyoto edition) part 1

Posted on 2012-05-29 at 9:00 am.

Kimono-clad ladies in the cafe of Doshisha University

One of the upsides of living in a shoebox is that you have to get out! If you want somewhere lovely to read, or write, or think, you have to metaphorically ‘get up off the sofa’ (although we don’t have a sofa!) and find somewhere. And Kyoto is the perfect place for this – I think it might just be a city of cafes to rival Paris. I am on a mission to discover all the hidden gems while I am here. I thought I would share a few pics of those I have discovered so far…

Coo Cafe (above and below)

Les Freres Moutaux boulangerie and cafe

Iyemon Salon (more on this later – I am in love!)

Meet me there?

Where is your favourite cafe?

The ring!

Posted on 2012-05-27 at 8:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

And here it is… my lovely engagement ring!

My man decided to let me choose which one I loved the most, and we got it made here in Kyoto.

I think it is just perfect and can’t stop looking at it.

Seven sparkly diamonds!

What do you think?

Role reversal

Posted on 2012-05-25 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

In the months leading up to our trip away I was working like a crazy thing. 14-18 hour days, and weekends, trying to get everything done before we moved, not to mention packing up the house. At that time my man really took care of me, cooking all our meals, doing most of the cleaning, running me hot baths, giving me foot massages and making me turn my computer off if it got past midnight.

Now we are here in Japan, there has been a complete role reversal – of course he still looks after me in his lovely way, but especially these first few weeks it has been up to me to pay bills, order food in restaurants, read maps etc, simply because everything is in Japanese. He is picking up the language at an astonishing rate, but it has been a very new experience these first few weeks for me to be the one who sorts everything out. I want him to learn quickly and get his independence, but I kind of like being able to help him this way…

Stuff, or a lack of it

Posted on 2012-05-23 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

No rucksack space for accessories like these…

When we headed out East we put our entire house in storage and travelled with just a rucksack and a small piece of hand luggage each. Not bad for more than half a year away! This obviously meant we had to clear out or leave a lot of ‘stuff’ behind, much of which I don’t miss at all. I have been thinking about all the stuff we surround ourselves with just because everyone else has it, and wondering about what I actually really miss.

There are a few things I do miss, being in a tiny matchbox of an apartment out here…

* Sofa (means I go to a lot of cafes)

* Oven/hob with more than one ring (means we eat out a lot)

* Garden (means I gravitate towards any public green space)

And a few things I brought that I am grateful for:

* iPad (because I get lost all the time)

* Decaf teabags

* Marmite

But there are also some things we don’t have that I don’t miss…

* Mobile phone

* TV

* Car

(* I still haven’t decided whether or not I miss my GHD straighteners…)

Can you imagine life without them? Maybe you could try it one day? I wonder what you would miss if you went away for a long while?

Changing lives and doing what you love: two amazing ladies share their stories

Posted on 2012-05-21 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Today’s shared stories come from Tracy Brandt and Jane Davenport.

Tracy Brandt

For some, doing what they love is a simple straight-line process. “I love to paint” + I find a way to paint = I do what I love.

For me, I honestly don’t love much of what I do.

I do what I do because I love the outcome.

Let me explain: for me, having a dream and doing what I love requires being inside the stringent and often corrupt parameters of a chaotic third world country. You see, in 2005, I founded a home for orphan children in Nepal, called Rising Lotus Children’s Village.

Although I realize nothing worthwhile in life ever comes easy, I have to say that nothing could be more difficult than trying to create and effectively run a program and policy in a third world country when you live halfway around the globe. Every tiny step in this process is a lesson in frustration. There is never enough money. There is never enough time to get it all done. There is always some glitch or delay in every transaction. It’s enough to make you want to pull your hair out … to just give up! … to say “Screw this!! Let someone else do it. Let someone else care.”

And that’s when you remember: “Oh wait. I care!”

So I keep trudging forward. Why? Because though the work itself is anything but loveable, I love the possibility of changing the life of an orphan for the better. I love the possibility of helping a child escape the horrid cycle of abject poverty, to give that child a chance! Because an orphan child is as deserving of love and opportunity as any other child on the planet, including my own,

I don’t know when I first realized that I wanted to do this and/or that this work is what I love. I only know that the moment I first stepped foot in Nepal, I knew I was meant to be there forever. And that when I saw the hundreds upon hundreds of orphan children literally discarded in the streets, I knew I had to do something to help.

Have I started a global powerhouse organization? No. Some revolutions are quiet ones. I founded a small, grassroots children’s home with a handful or orphans. Over the years, we’ve grown to 12 kids, then to 20. We have a waiting list of nearly 200. Those truly needing services like ours number in the thousands. It’s enough to knock you down the need is so great.

How did I make this a reality? I tempted fate. I told everyone who laughed at me to go to hell. I carried on. I continue to carry on. I refuse to give up.

I don’t know. My “Do What You Love” story isn’t very glamorous. It’s filled with a lot of stress and frustration and worry. It’s filled with no time for myself because managing this work, along with two boys, and a husband with his own complex company to run (who gets to his wits end with the time and energy running Rising Lotus takes from me) … there just never seems to be much time for me that’s just mine.

But, I carry on because in my soul I feel called back time and time again to Nepal: to these children and to the people there and to the country.

I don’t love it all. Does anyone ever love ALL of the aspects of doing what they love? Is it only worth loving when things go smoothly and right?

We do what we love because we love what comes out of our love. We love the product of our love.

For me, the product of my love is that a child that was entirely without one … now has a positive chance! Not a guarantee, but a chance! Now that’s powerful.

So, I’m sticking with it. Sometimes doing what you love means finding your rainbow and sliding down it. But for others, doing what you love sometimes means staying true to your dream, come hell or high water.

The impossible only seems so until you do it.

[All images courtesy of Tracy Brandt.]

Find out more about Rising Lotus Children’s village here.

Jane Davenport

I took the leap to be a “Professional Artist” in 2000. It was a monumental decision and seemed very sudden to the outer world.

I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t possible for me to NOT do what I love…

And what I LOVED doing was looking at ladybirds. So I ditched a burgeoning fashion photography career in London and Paris for taking photographs of bugs. I even came up with a term for what I do : Artomology. ( yep, I swapped photographing the human type of stick insect and social butterfly for the real thing!)

Over the past 12 years I have built my reputation as an internationally exhibited photographic artist, prize-winning author and gallery owner. I have also work with fantastic companies who license the rights for my images to create calendars, stationery ranges, textiles and homewares.

I discovered Art Journaling 2 years ago, and for the first time, really felt the creative dots within me connecting. I have since become a bit of a journaling evangelist! I know what a joyful transformation untangling myself in in Art Journal has had for me, and I am rather gung-ho about sharing the benefits of creating a dedicated space for artistic outpouring!

I was asked to teach in an collaborative online workshop about Art Journaling called “21 Secrets” last year and nearly said no, I was too busy with my Gallery, writing a book, painting etc etc… but I adore and respect the person who invited me, so on a whim I said “yes”… then nearly melted with panic!

I created a mini online workshop called ” Draw Happy”, which focuses on the bizarre fact that drawing seems to terrify people, even incredibly creative, arty ones! And as soon as the doors to the class opened, students rushed in and BANG! ! Joy for teaching and empowering women through harnessing their creative potential absolutely exploded in my chest. Serious volcano!

Once I discovered I had a superpower for teaching people to draw from their imagination, the rest of the world kind of dropped away, as my attention turned to this new adventure. I gather so much fun and love from my students and I become ever more creative as a result. To say we have a love inferno going on, is a bit of an understatement!

I run my workshops on two of my own School sites now. They have been a huge success and the results my beloved students get for themselves are amazing quite frankly. A day never goes by where someone makes me feel like jumping on the table and doing a can-can at their creative progress. To help grow another persons confidence is an amazing gift to both parties. I ‘get’ teaching. I heart it.

My big dream now is to continue growing as an Online Creativity Leader. I have so many ideas for workshops! I am also working on some of my own art products, things that are missing from my art supply arsenal – and let me tell you, if I don’t have it as a degenerate art supply junkie, it doesn’t exist!

I also had the immense pleasure of teaching my art heroine, Teesha Moore at her Artfest Annex earlier this year, and I want to combine more live workshops with travel. I have the first of my Escape Artist retreats in Bali this year. Next July will be Paris. The future holds many more fun, juicy events…

[Images courtesy of Jane Davenport.]

To find out more about Jane visit her website.

The 1000-gated shrine

Posted on 2012-05-19 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

I decided to take my man on a magical mystery tour to introduce him to some of Kyoto’s most famous sites. Despite being a tourist myself I really don’t like touristy places, but most places that have a lot of tourists are swamped for a good reason, and Fushimi Inari is no different. We opted to go on a weekday, when everyone else was at work, and had most of the mountainside to ourselves.

Fushimi Inari is quite an extraordinary place. A few miles south of Kyoto, it is home to over 1000 red torii shrine gates, which weave around the mountainside.

‘Inari’ is the name of the god of rice, a diet staple and fundamental part of Japanese life. There are thousands of Inari shrines across the country but the one at Fushimi is the most famous.

It was founded twelve centuries ago, and remains an active part of the community. Nearly every single one of the 1000+ cinnabar red shrine gates are ‘sponsored’ by local businesses.

But when a company’s name is written in beautiful flowing kanji lettering, it somehow doesn’t feel commercial at all. Each of them offer prayers for prosperity – and some of them pay as much as $150,000 for the privilege!

I visited with my parents many years ago and we purchased a tiny red model gate from the shrine shop and hid it in the forest, off the mountain path.

We searched for it but couldn’t find it this time round – I like to think that a cheeky wild monkey moved it and uses it as the entrance to his little house in the trees…

Photostyling

Posted on 2012-05-16 at 3:00 pm.

Written by Beth Kempton

When we decided to come out to Japan to spend a few months, I knew that one of the things I wanted to do was take some lessons in photography/styling. Out here they call it ‘photostyling’, and they even have a formal association for it.

I found a teacher here in Kyoto who lives out west, among a green expanse of paddy fields. Once a month I have to take a sweet little train for 20 minutes or so, away from the city, past a stunning gorge and out to the beginning of the countryside. I love the little adventure, and the prospect of learning more about my beloved camera (as well as learning how to take better photos of all that lovely stationery…)

This month’s theme was flowers – and in an attempt to understand more about the different settings on my camera, I took a lot of shots of the same thing! It was interesting to see how the light and shadows changed between each image. Can’t wait to find out more…

Making tough decisions

Posted on 2012-05-15 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

These past few weeks I have had to make some really tough decisions. I suppose deciding to up sticks and move to Japan for several months would be a big decision for many people, although for me it was fairly easy – it felt like time for another adventure. But some of the other decisions I have made recently have felt a lot tougher.

Like the London 2012 decision. Seven years ago, when the IOC announced that London had won the right to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012, I decided in that moment I wanted to be the liaison officer who looks after the Japanese team. A team liaison officer is the contact person between the Organising Committee and a particular nation’s athletes and officials. It is a full on job and you are essentially on call 24 hours, but it is incredibly rewarding – you play a key role in helping everything run smoothly for the team. It is also emotional – you share their disappointments and elation as the results come in. I have done this job for many British and Japanese teams at various major sports events including the Winter Olympics and World Athletics Championships, but the Olympics in my home country was really the pinnacle.

With that goal in mind I applied and went through a very long selection process. I didn’t hear anything for a while, and we decided to make plans to come out here. But then, when we had already bought our tickets out here, and my man had already taken his sabattical from work, I was offered the exact job I wanted – as the team liaison officer for the Japan Men’s National Football Team at London 2012.

What to do?

In order to do take the job I would have had to leave Japan about three weeks after arriving, for various meetings and workshops, and then just a few weeks later go back for up to a month. It would have meant leaving my man stranded and alone just after we had got here, and then abandoning him again shortly after, when this was supposed to be our adventure. It would have meant spending every moment since I got here swotting up on medical terminology and reading every football magazine going. It would have meant a lot of pressure to polish my language skills very quickly to be able to serve the team appropriately.

In essence, it would have completely changed this experience of Japan for both me and for my man. I have absolutely no doubt that it would be an incredible experience, but this adventure here and now is a really important experience too.

So I turned it down. You probably think I’m crazy. Part of me still thinks I am crazy. But another part knows it was an important decision.

For years before Do What You love I was involved in the sports industry in a number of ways, and still get involved in certain projects. But for a number of reasons I made a big shift to this new life a couple of years ago, and this feels much more like me. And I know that by making this choice I have made space for other opportunities – and made this particular opportunity available to someone else. I guess we often forget that – by saying no to things we can actually do other people a favour.

I feel like for the first time ever I have truly chosen this new path over the old one. Chosen my home life over my work life. Chosen the slow lane over the fast lane. Chosen quiet over glamour. Chosen this adventure over that one. I am still not quite sure how I feel about this tough decision, but I am going to let things unfold as they will and have faith that it was the right choice to make at this point in my life.

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Do you want to do more of what you love? If you fancy an adventure of your own why not join me for the Do What You Love e-course? Shake things up, expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and feed your creative soul. Identify your passion and make it a greater part of your every day life! Find out more and register here. Class has just started but you can still squeeze in if you are quick!

Temple wandering

Posted on 2012-05-13 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Some people who visit Japan complain of being ‘templed out’ – where they get fed up of visiting temple after temple (as there are so many!). But not me.

I could spend days wandering temple grounds, inhaling the scent of cedar, slowing down to listen to the splash of a waterfall onto ancient rocks, sitting in the shadow of a majestic wooden structure, sketching the bamboo in the temple garden and listening for the haunting sound of a bell or gong.

These two temples have a special place in my heart. Honen-in (above) is tucked away down a narrow path just a stone’s throw from the famous Ginkakuji. While its neighbour heaves with tourists and picture-snapping school children, Honen-in always seems empty but inviting. Close to the forest it offers welcome shade in the heat of the day, and a delicious calm away from the crowds.

Anraku-ji (above and below) is where I stumbled across a wonderful lady who taught me ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) and became like a second mother to me when I was a wide-eyed student here more than 15 years ago. But that’s a story for another day…

Wish you were here…

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I’m on a big adventure in Japan right now. If you fancy an adventure of your own why not join me for the Do What You Love e-course? Shake things up, expand your comfort zone, nurture your playful spirit and feed your creative soul. Identify your passion and make it a greater part of your every day life! Find out more and register here.

Inviting entrances

Posted on 2012-05-12 at 9:00 am.

Written by Beth Kempton

Kyoto is a wonderful city for cycling in, except for one thing. It takes me ages to get anywhere, not because it is that big, but because at every turn there is an inviting entrance just begging to be photographed! Sometimes you wonder how businesses survive – it seems the more exclusive and expensive they are, the harder they are to find. A row of low lights here, a flight of worn stone steps there… Here are some of the entrances that have called to me recently…

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