Welcome To Yoshino's Diary
with essay included, "Wandering and Wondering."
Hello Everyone,
I’m Yoshino, host of the Artist Decoded podcast and co-founder of NOH/WAVE. I want to welcome you to a new project of mine entitled, Yoshino’s Diary.
If you are receiving this, it is because you have previously subscribed to our newsletters at Artist Decoded and/or NOH/WAVE. I would like to take a moment to express my gratitude to you for your continued support so far.
Over the past year, I have been traveling through Mexico and South America on a nomadic journey. My intentions for this project are to share my experiences, observations, and realizations along this process. Yoshino’s Diary is a mixture of my writing, and photography, and is a new podcast in a sense, as I will be interviewing some of the people I have been meeting on this new endeavor.
I’d love it if you all can stay along with me on this journey. But whether you continue to read or not, I am filled with peace and joy as I share this moment with you. We are all brothers and sisters in this complex ecosystem, and I cherish this thought with complete sincerity. I want to give you all a virtual hug for simply being you. You are uniquely important. I hope you continue to be reminded of this.
Kind regards,
Yoshino
“Wandering and Wondering”
The image above was taken Oct 1st, 2022 on the way to Guadalajara from Puerto Vallarta.
I’ve spent a lot of time in my life exploring curiosities, giving my time and attention to understanding how things function. I believe the power of being an artist contains multitudes in the way in which we express our observations. The confidence to spread that out to others is something I have been trying to consistently channel.
As William S. Burroughs once said, “Nothing exists until or unless it is observed. An artist is making something exist by observing it. And their hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it. I call it ‘creative observation.”
Traditional educational structures tend to encourage the process of memorizing and repeating information without giving people the space to develop critical thinking skills. This Pavlovian conditioning to strive and become a productive member of society can lead to monetary rewards, while popular media reinforces these desires. It is part of the consensus trance, which further homogenizes the human experience and separates us from who we truly are.
What are we becoming when distractions sprinkle glitter between the sulcus of our brains? As we are drawn away by the cavernous seductions that dilute our senses.
My “creative observations,” have led me to believe in the power of deepening one’s intuition and holding space for a balanced existence. I find catharsis within the yin and yang, accepting that polarities exist within everyone, as we all vibrate and undulate in a congruent equilibrium.
One of the key insights of quantum physics is that everything in the universe, including humans, is made up of particles that are constantly vibrating. These vibrations give rise to energy, and the frequency of the vibrations determines the amount of energy that is present.
From a human perspective, quantum physics suggests that our thoughts and emotions are also forms of energy and vibrations. This has led to the development of the idea that we can influence the world around us through our thoughts and intentions.
As my intuition deepens, I hone my abilities to critically think and allow existing information to inform my observations of abstract reality. This journal is more than a documentation of my reality, and I hope others will be able to find glimpses of themselves within the folds. Perhaps we all can create a heightened value structure as the conversation coagulates and solidifies.
And with all of that said, within this crucial dissection of experience, I also believe in the simplicity of being, and to not overly intellectualize existence, but to find wonder and amazement from the presentness in the here and now.
“Do not wait for life. Do not long for it. Be aware, always and at every moment, that the miracle is in the here and now.” - Marcel Proust
A few years ago, I was spending time with a friend and her family in Central California. It was towards the end of summer on a swelteringly hot day. A few days prior there were record-breaking temperatures, which seems to be common as the effects of climate change become more apparent. I remember seeing heat waves ripple in the distance, as we walked toward the park under the protective shielding of the lively oak trees.
Along the way, I noticed my friend’s two-year-old nephew was collecting sticks. At the time it was his favorite activity while venturing to the park. I watched as he would pick each one up with careful consideration, running his stubby little fingers across the curves and ridges. Some he would discard, others he would want to keep. He giggled and squirmed as he ran the tips of his fingers across a twig covered in moss.
Whenever he decided that a stick was adequate enough to keep, he would pass it off to me as if I were his assistant in this archaeological endeavor. He trotted around and awkwardly ran to new objects, sometimes he would fall and get back up without a care or consideration for how dirty he was getting. I wondered what was going on in his beautiful brain, such innocence and amazement for the subtleties of his surroundings. Watching him having so much excitement playing made me remember how simple and joyful life can be, and how as adults we tend to overcomplicate our lives with unnecessary needs and wants.
Moments like this remind me of the teachings of the Tao.
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” - Lao Tzu
But what belongs to us when we allow outside forces to strip us of our identities?
We all have gifts to share. We are all beautiful and precious, just like this little child. We were once there, young, innocent, and unscathed from the toxicity of modern experience.
Do moments such as this not reveal how precious this life can be? When art is no longer lost in abstract thought, as we witness the essence of life unfold before of our eyes.
We are that child. Every one of us is. May we remind ourselves that this life is simultaneously complex and simple.
Today I will pause and relax within my observations and reflections. To live another day is a blessing and a gift.
Beautifully spoken!