The Japanese have a saying, to throw a shrimp out as bait (while fishing) to catch a mackerel, meaning to get a big profit from putting out little effort. Well, the wait is over, as the big Powerball jackpot that the U.S. has been in a craze for the last couple weeks was finally claimed tonight, someone finally got their mackerel (hit the lottery) and took the prize away. The more I think about it, the more I dislike the lottery, for various reasons that I've already gotten into, so let's move on...
The above phrase also describes "being able to obtain a girlfriend easily without putting out much effort." That's never been the case for me, and if anything I've always suffered from the opposite problem, putting in too much effort and not getting enough back. Recently, however, I've met someone very special in my life, and we've become a couple! It's almost surreal, that I can talk to someone every day and share my life and my experiences with, who I like and I know who likes me back. It's a feeling that I haven't really had before (this is my first gf) and hope to continue to experience for a long time (if not forever), but paradoxically, I didn't have to expend that much energy! It's almost as if what they say is true: sometimes instead of pushing you have to pull, just let dating come naturally and not want it so badly, that it might eventually come naturally. I didn't really try to go to extremes like internet dating or whatnot, I met my gf naturally and gradually got to know her, went out as friends a few times and then eventually asked her to an actual date, then in San Antonio over New Year's officially asked her to be my girlfriend. It's really a fun and wild ride!
Whatever the reasons for mutual attraction and this time being more successful than other attempts, I do think it's important that both parties like each other. It saves so much wasted emotion/ stress/ misunderstanding. I've been in plenty of situations where there was kataomoi (片思い) by one party, (more on my part admittedly but there HAVE BEEN SOME THE OPPOSITE!!!!) and it just doesn't mesh as well.....one side almost has to sell oneself to the other side to invest in them, it just doesn't seem natural. When I'm with my girlfriend (wow, it's weird even using that term and making it "official") the pressure is off to try to impress her (not that I don't try, not in a bad way where I just take her for granted I hope) so everything seems more natural, and I know that she already likes me for me, so I can express myself honestly and openly, but because I do actually like her too, I'm able to express positive feelings and emotions that make her like me more (I think), which in turn makes her say and do things that make me like her more, and the cycle keeps going on. I might just be naive and in the so-called "honeymoon phase," (I'll circle back on this article a few months later and hope that I don't derisively laugh at myself for being so lacking in sense, but that's how I feel now, and it feels great. I truly lucked out on this one. 海老で鯛を釣る! I really like the mackerel that I got!
No comments:
Post a Comment