Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite authors. His surreal stories throughout Japan interweaving his characters and their existential journeys. The majority of his protagonists are common and usually casual through their course in life. 'Flowing' through their existence with what comes to them with little drive what should be expected from them on a societal level. Often loners, they do what is needed or what ought to be done with little concern for themselves. Things simply exist because they do. I can't help but find countless similarities with these novels and their characters.

The path that we choose is in many ways already pre-decided. What choices you may or may not have are extremely limited with the context of the society and world we live in. It is rare that you are able to break free from those constraints and simply flow the path that is yours. Flow is largely something that is forced upon us, in which we must flow to other standards and not our own. Of course, you can view this flow through countless variables, but all are nothing more than a directional system pre-established. You, me, and everyone that exists in this world. For the most part, this is seemingly how it has always been, but often times people are simply forcing things upon themselves to follow a particular flow. Now, I am not trying to talk of 'free will,' but something much more basic than that. We all choose, but this is almost the reverse where choosing is not choosing. Lately I have been trying to look at my place in this construct, my job, my family, and the people I have around me. Sometimes letting go of things shows which things are impactful on my life and which are not. Which I realize I do not need, for when they are not there I am able to see what they mean to me. The sad truth is that I find a large part of these things indifferent. I prefer to see what flow I find myself in rather than struggling for a flow that I think may be ideal, and in the process getting thrown around amongst the currents. I am trying to search for the flow within myself.

Right now, I find books and novels in which I am constantly finding gems of truth, understanding, and relation to what I am feeling. I feel as if the journey that Toru Okada is taking in 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' is the same as my own, and as such hoping to find some markers as to where my flow is. It is largely an individual task, and something I feel is extremely lonely though not depressing. I feel ok with what I am doing, without 'that' which is around me, and realizing I am possibly seeing things a bit more clearly. I can accept the way things are around me and simply keep existing and see what happens when. Now the reverse of this is I freak out, and just leave, jumping into another completely new flow and for some reason that doesnt seem that bad too. I guess if there is nothing keeping in this flow, moving, even dramatically, is not really forcing myself from it.

But I digress to Murakami. His stories are amazing pieces of literature and cover such a broad range of philosophies and human interaction. It is beautifully written and brings a depth to his writing that is infinitely deep but transparent on the surface (unlike my own writing). I highly suggest reading any of his books or short stories (or even if you must, watch 'Tony Takitani' which is based off one of his short stories. It is beautiful). The trials that occur in his novels are similar to those that we encounter in our lives, though the methods in which those characters react is what I feel creates the fiction for it is rare that individuals are open to wear the flow may take them.