by axxxm
Summer Solstice
22/June/2023 in Tokyo
Yesterday was the summer solstice
Longest day of the year
Afterward, daytime gets shorter & shorter
Always some strange feeling occurs in the day of the summer solstice in Japan
Strange feeling.......or, a sense of mismatch & a sense of slight sorrow
Something I noticed in Eastern Europe & Balkan was
summer actually comes earlier there than Japan
May & June is already hot enough
In Japan, May is overall still somewhat spring-like
June is rainy season
Temperature isn't that high
Sometimes feels even chilly, like today in Tokyo
After this rainy season ends in the early-mid July, "real summer" arrives
which is unbearably hot, unbearably uncomfortable
that is incomparable with summer in Eastern Europe & Balkan
It's all due to higher temperature as well as much higher humidity
The reason the strange feeling occurs in me is because of this
As daytime gets longer & brightness increases towards the summer solstice
it feels we are on the upward
it feels we are approaching an exciting time
And indeed we are
But in Japan
much before "real summer" comes in July
much before "an exciting time" finally starts
a decline already begins
Before you get a hope, you're already disappointed
Before you reach the full bloom, you're already faded
Before you begin your life, you're already invaded by death
......but actually, wherever I am in, both summer & winter solstice always brings some sense of mismatch
Mismatch between the reality & my sense
In my head, I totally understand daytime gets shorter after the summer one & daytime gets longer after the winder one
It's scientifically proven & a valid fact
But in my sense, or in my instinct, or somewhere in my body where "logic" or "fact" or "reality"......all these mathematical notions......are completely ignored & despised, it feels all unnatural and wrong
"Today is the winter solstice & from today on, daytime gets longer & longer"
Who can instantly believe this in the midst of cold dark winter in the late-December?
"Today is the summer solstice & from today on, daytime gets shorter & shorter"
Who can naively believe this, when summer has not yet arrived?
"You are approaching death day by day"
Who can nonchalantly accept this, when you're full of life, your whole body overflowing with youth & brightness?
