{"id":2072,"date":"2019-03-27T01:54:25","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T16:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kota-yoshida.com\/?p=2072"},"modified":"2026-03-11T00:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T15:40:57","slug":"alaskan-lighter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kota-yoshida.com\/en\/alaskan-lighter\/","title":{"rendered":"Alaskan lighter | Painting Artworks | Trip Notes | Kota | Oneness Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Title: Alaskan Lighter
\nMaterials: Transparent watercolor, watercolor paper, etc.
\nDimensions: Approximately 19 cm x 28.5 cm
\nCreated: 2017<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Alaskan Lighter<\/h3>\n
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 <\/p>\n

I close my eyes and take a slow, deep breath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then gently light the flame of the lighter in my heart.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As I light the flame,<\/p>\n

memories of Alaska vividly appear.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

...<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The land is vast, far, and beautiful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

360 degrees,<\/p>\n

only the elements of nature stretch as far as the horizon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If I take a deep breath, the cold wind<\/p>\n

slightly freezes the inside of my nose,<\/p>\n

but at the same time, it brings a refreshing scent of wood.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Like a steam locomotive,<\/p>\n

exhaling white breath with a puff,<\/p>\n

a massive moose walks slowly and steadily.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the extreme cold,<\/p>\n

a herd of caribou runs wildly<\/p>\n

across the snowfields.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A fox swiftly scurries<\/p>\n

alone across the road, trying not to be seen by anyone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At times, some are eaten,<\/p>\n

and those who eat them live off their nourishment.<\/p>\n

The harmony between creatures and nature<\/p>\n

appears endlessly simple and perfect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The sky is crisp and clear,<\/p>\n

vivid and beautiful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The morning sky is incredibly blue,<\/p>\n

and the sunlight sears the world with its warmth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The evening sky is dyed with colors like blue, purple, red, peach, orange, and yellow,<\/p>\n

as if watercolor paints were dropped into it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The night sky, with countless visible stars as its backdrop,<\/p>\n

sees the aurora slowly undulating,<\/p>\n

dancing until it is satisfied.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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The people are astonishingly resilient,<\/p>\n

warm, and beautiful.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the extreme cold of the forest,<\/p>\n

they create everything from scratch with their own hands,<\/p>\n

from their homes to everything else.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The old trees they cut down<\/p>\n

are turned into firewood to keep warm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They generate electricity with solar panels,<\/p>\n

and gather only the water they need from a nearby clean, fresh spring.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They hunt animals with deep respect and gratitude,<\/p>\n

consuming every part of the body,<\/p>\n

and using the bones and organs for other purposes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Perhaps because they know the harshness and coldness of Alaska's nature better than anyone,<\/p>\n

the eyes and hearts of the people are filled with compassion and warmth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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One cold day,<\/p>\n

a man who lived in the forest looked up at the sky,<\/p>\n

and from his magnificent mustache,<\/p>\n

he exhaled a white breath and spoke to me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe world today is overflowing with things and information,<\/p>\n

and it's becoming strange.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even when people are face to face,<\/p>\n

they're looking at their smartphones.<\/p>\n

In the city, neighbors often don\u2019t even know much about each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMany people go to the supermarket and buy neatly arranged meat and vegetables with price tags on them,<\/p>\n

and by eating them, it seems they forget the connection they have with other living beings,<\/p>\n

and that they are sustained by other creatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As a pure, silent white time slowly flowed by,<\/p>\n

I paused my breath for a moment,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

then he looked straight into my eyes and continued:<\/p>\n

\u201cTo tell the truth,<\/p>\n

people have forgotten the important connection with the Earth.<\/p>\n

Remembering that connection with the Earth,<\/p>\n

and cherishing it,<\/p>\n

will make both the heart and this world rich forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTrue wealth is not measured by money,<\/p>\n

but by the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNature always teaches us the most important things.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why living surrounded by trees is<\/p>\n

my greatest happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

...<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I gently extinguished the fire in my heart.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I slowly opened my eyes,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

and took a slow, deep breath.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even after the fire was extinguished, that freezing wind,<\/p>\n

the sound and scent of burning wood,<\/p>\n

the taste of life,<\/p>\n

the warmth of people,<\/p>\n

and many words continued to float around inside me like smoke.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\u201cTrue wealth is not measured by money, but by the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/kota-yoshida.com\/?p=778","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,38,39],"tags":[66],"class_list":["post-2072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-story","category-trip-notes","category-works","tag-artwork-insight","en-US"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t