A principal said that he tried to minimise his belongings before his every business trip. Then if he couldn’t come back, at least he wouldn’t trouble people too much. I said it’s “断捨離”. He asked where to pause at appropriate points in reading these three characters, “is it 断, 捨離 or 断捨，離?” I said “it’s 断,捨,離. It’s Japanese. Don’t you know?” He asked “Really?” and searched for it. Then he said because he is not in a marriage, he's not familiar with Japanese home vocabulary. I started try not to buy things since the past many years. I even don't have food and drink at the place that I rent. The only sleeping bag is what I picked up at lost and found. I observed it many days in the autumn and found that no one needed it, then I decided to take it for the coming winter. Perhaps only people who move frequently can understand the wandering life experience and frustrations.

A principal once mentioned that he tries to minimise his belongings before every business trip so that if he couldn’t make it back, he wouldn’t trouble people too much. I told him, “That’s 断捨離.” He asked where the appropriate pauses were when reading those characters, “Is it 断, 捨離 or 断捨, 離?” I explained, “It’s 断, 捨, 離. It’s Japanese. Didn’t you know?” He seemed surprised, saying, “Really?” and looked it up. Then he joked that since he’s not married, he’s not familiar with Japanese home vocabulary. For years now, I’ve also been trying not to accumulate things. I don’t even keep food or drink at the place I rent. My only sleeping bag is something I picked up from the lost and found. I’d noticed it there for several days in autumn, and when no one claimed it, I decided to take it for the coming winter. Perhaps only those who move frequently can truly understand the wandering life.

A principal once said that he always tried to minimise [or even 'rationalise'] his belongings before every business trip. Then if he couldn’t come back, at least he wouldn’t trouble people too much. I said it’s “断捨離”. He asked where to pause at appropriate points in reading these three characters, “is it 断, 捨離 or 断捨，離?” I said, “It’s 断,捨,離. It’s Japanese. Don’t you know?” He said “Really?” and looked it up. Then he said that because he is not married, he's not familiar with Japanese vocabulary of the home. I started trying not to buy things many years ago. I don't even have food and drink at the place that I rent. The only sleeping bag I have is one that I picked up at lost and found. I observed it there over several days in the autumn and found that no one needed it, so I decided to take it for the coming winter. Perhaps only people who move frequently can understand the itinerant life and its frustrations.