Are We There Yet?

 

Please see below for the Japanese translation!

One key to good photography is to return to the same site again and again.

I was fortunate to photograph Okayama Castle once during the central part of the day and once during the early morning.

Thank heavens for that early morning light! 

 Are we there yet? How many thousands of kids have asked their parents that question???!!!!

The same can be said about the ongoing process of personal development. However, in that case, at least speaking for myself, I will never fully arrive!

I wish I had several hundred years to learn all the lessons I need to know! Given that is not the case, here is an update.

One of my favorite sources of personal wisdom is Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements. One of those agreements is not to take anything personally.  In particular, he talks about not swallowing the emotional poison of others. In other words, if a person is upset and losing their cool, I should not swallow that poison or react defensively to the other person's bad mood. I love this concept and am working very hard to put its wisdom into practice. 

As above, for many people, their bad moods do not last very long. If I can ignore those bad moods and keep my cool, there is a good chance the other person's bad mood will pass in a short period of time. At least, I can hope! 

As with many of us, I have recently discovered the fantastic world of AI.  I started with ChatGPT and have also been working with Perplexity. I love that Perplexity lists citations and references! As a research fanatic, having a list of references is like solid gold! In addition, as a teacher, it is truly incredible to be able to access articles, lessons, vocabulary, and other information almost instantaneously for my tutoring. Talk about having the world at your fingertips!

Lastly, this writing has been edited by Grammarly. I have learned a great deal by working with that correction tool! I have the paid version, so it corrects my writing on all my screens, tabs, and documents. Super cool!

 Happy Holidays!

Bob Reed 

 

日本語訳は以下をご覧ください！ 良い写真を撮るコツの一つは、同じ場所に何度も足を運ぶことです。 幸運にも、岡山城を日中と早朝にそれぞれ1回ずつ撮影することができました。 早朝の光に感謝！ もう着いたの？ 一体何人の子供が親にこの質問をしたことがあるでしょうか？！ 個人の成長過程についても同じことが言えます。しかし、少なくとも私自身は、完全には到達できないでしょう！ 必要な教訓をすべて学ぶのに数百年あればいいのに！ そうはいかないので、ここで最新情報をお伝えします。 私が個人的に参考にしている知恵の一つに、ドン・ミゲル・ルイスの『4つの約束』があります。その約束の一つは、何事も個人的に受け止めないことです。特に、彼は他人の感情的な毒を飲み込まないことについて語っています。言い換えれば、もし誰かが動揺して冷静さを失っている場合、私もその毒を飲み込んだり、相手の機嫌を損ねて防御的に反応したりすべきではないということです。私はこのコンセプトが大好きで、その知恵を実践するために一生懸命取り組んでいます。 上記のように、多くの人は機嫌が悪い時はあまり長く続きません。もし私が機嫌が悪い時でも、冷静さを保つことができれば、相手の機嫌もすぐに良くなる可能性が高いです。少なくとも、私はそう願っています！ 多くの人と同じように、私も最近AIの素晴らしい世界を発見しました。ChatGPTを使い始め、Perplexityも使っています。Perplexityが引用文献と参考文献をリストアップしてくれるのが気に入っています！研究好きな私にとって、参考文献リストはまさに金の塊です！さらに、教師として、指導のために記事、レッスン、語彙、その他の情報にほぼ瞬時にアクセスできるのは本当に素晴らしいことです。まさに指先一つで世界が手に入る、と言えるでしょう！ 最後に、この文章はGrammarlyによって編集されました。この添削ツールを使うことで、多くのことを学びました！有料版を使っているので、すべての画面、タブ、ドキュメントの文章を添削してくれます。最高です！ ハッピーホリデー！ ボブ・リード

 

Nihongo-yaku wa ika o goran kudasai! Yoi shashinwotoru kotsu no hitotsu wa, onaji basho ni nando mo ashi o hakobu kotodesu. Kōun'nimo, Okayama shiro o nitchū to sōchō ni sorezore 1-kai zutsu satsuei suru koto ga dekimashita. Sōchō no hikari ni kansha! Mō tsuita no? Ittai nani-jin no kodomo ga oya ni kono shitsumon o shita koto ga arudeshou ka? ! Kojin no seichō katei ni tsuite mo onaji koto ga iemasu. Shikashi, sukunakutomo watakushijishin wa, kanzen ni wa tōtatsu dekinaideshou! Hitsuyōna kyōkun o subete manabu no ni sū hyaku-nen areba īnoni! Sō wa ikanainode, koko de saishin jōhō o otsutae shimasu. Watashi ga kojin-teki ni sankō ni shite iru chie no hitotsu ni, don Migeru Ruisu no “4tsu no yakusoku” ga arimasu. Sono yakusoku no hitotsu wa, nanigoto mo kojin-teki ni uketomenai kotodesu. Tokuni, kare wa tanin no kanjō-tekina doku o nomikomanai koto ni tsuite katatte imasu. Iikaereba, moshi darekaga dōyō shite reisei-sa o ushinatte iru baai, watashi mo sono doku o nomikon dari, aite no kigen o sokonete bōgyo-teki ni han'nō shi tari subekide wa nai to iu kotodesu. Watashi wa kono konseputo ga daisukide, sono chie o jissen suru tame ni isshōkenmei torikunde imasu. Jōki no yō ni, ōku no hito wa kigengawarui-ji wa amari nagaku tsudzukimasen. Moshi watashi ga kigengawarui-ji demo, reisei-sa o tamotsu koto ga dekireba, aite no kigen mo sugu ni yoku naru kanōsei ga takaidesu. Sukunakutomo, watashi wa sō negatte imasu! Ōku no hito to onajiyōni, watashi mo saikin AI no subarashī sekai o hakken shimashita. ChatGPT o tsukai hajime, Perplexity mo tsukatteimasu. Perplexity ga in'yō bunken to sankō bunken o risutoappu shite kureru no ga kiniitte imasu! Kenkyū sukina watashi ni totte, sankō bunken risuto wa masani kin no katamaridesu! Sarani, kyōshi to shite, shidō no tame ni kiji, ressun, goi, sonohoka no jōhō ni hobo shunji ni akusesu dekiru no wa hontōni subarashī kotodesu. Masani yubisaki hitotsu de sekai ga tenihairu, to ierudeshou! Saigo ni, kono bunshō wa Grammarly ni yotte henshū sa remashita. Kono tensaku tsūru o tsukau koto de, ōku no koto o manabimashita! Yūryō-ban o tsukatte irunode, subete no gamen, tabu, dokyumento no bunshō o tensaku shite kuremasu. Saikōdesu! Happīhoridē! Bobu rīdo