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In the first installment of Afterimage, I shared The Art of the Striptease, an essay on my writing process, what I see with the soles of my feet, and using sadness to elevate some very mundane tasks. I hope this postcard can connect us, from where I am, to where you are. A start of a conversation. Let’s begin.

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Seen: Light as Perfume

Different cities have different light. A little like how perfume smells differently on different people, different skin. The same sun, the same light, but on Paris it’s blue and high. On Tokyo, it’s warm and long.

Bike parking, Setagaya, Tokyo. April 2022

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Overheard: What My Mom Told Me About Boys (Also Applies to Leadership, Apparently)

The need to be the good guy (or gal) pushes humans to say things that make them look good, but not always what they mean. I think about the first time I got ghosted. I couldn't figure it out, he was such a good guy. But then again, he disappeared. I think about my first devastating breakup. My boyfriend/no-longer-boyfriend said all the right things. His walk didn’t match the talk.

I thought of what my mom said to me after that breakup. Through the awkwardness (mine), she patiently told me boys who want to look good are the biggest heartbreakers, and usually the biggest cowards.

“...people know what they should be doing, and they often say what they should be doing, but it’s what they do that really matters.”

I was listening to Rice University professor Scott Sonenshein offering passionate takes on messaging and action, and behavioral integrity for leaders coming back to the office after the pandemic. It was compelling to lean in and learn for a number of reasons. The generation gap and cultural difference in the workplace, meaning and what matters to working people, and the pandemic as an opportunity to reset are themes that weigh heavily in my sessions with coaching clients these past months.

But maybe it was most compelling because action as a measure of intent is universal. It speaks volumes, no matter the circumstances we find ourselves having this conversation. I guess moms just know.
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Connecting to: What We Talk About When We Talk About Work

I really hate LinkedIn. What puzzles me is why then, am I still on?

Something shifted this week. Leaving the wintery countryside behind for a week in Tokyo, feeling its energy, and surrounding myself with people who know me, love me, and get me. ​Processing uncomfortable emotions and writing about them. It's helped me to think more clearly to see where I’ve been, where I am now, and where I’m going.

These conversations pointed me to a new way of seeing my work and my career. My career isn't a linear pursuit of bigger, better roles (It hasn’t been for a long time). Instead, it's an evolution, a cultivation of advocacy and greater agency for myself and for the people I work with. The shift from getting to giving has been my focus for the last five years. It sounds odd, but I wasn't completely aware of it. I'm catching up with it now and acknowledging who/what helped me to get here, and where I am today.

Will this perspective change how I feel about LinkedIn? Maybe not, but I'll let you know.

If we leave behind the idea that a career is a game of Chutes-and-Ladders, what's the real story behind your work? What drives you and the work you do? What do you talk about when you talk about work?

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Felt Sense: Messages from my Body

• On flightless jetlag from working across time zones: Less than 6.5 hours of sleep, and I’m on edge. It’s the bare minimum. 7 makes me feel sane, clear-headed, and centered. The sleep deprivation threshold is palpable.
• Coaching 3+ clients a day: I feel the edge of stress starting to sharpen. I didn’t notice it before. The stress seeps in from my skin and constricts me. I’ve capped sessions at three per day. And that's got my mind on thoughtful and sustainable ways to scale.
• One week deeper into spring. No more pinpricks from snowflakes melting on my shoulders as I soak in the thermal onsen baths, resting my eyes on the cedar across the river. My body is letting go and learning to relax again. No more clenching as I prepare to step out of the house. Spring is here.
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A question for you: What’s a message your body’s given you, and what have you done to respond? I’d love to hear.

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Curiosity: Does How We Write Change What We Write?

This week, I came across typewriters belonging to two women who must be three generations apart: AOC and Anaïs Nin. It made me wonder what happens to written material when the physical act of writing changes. Here's more in my short essay, Does How We Write Change What We Write?

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Right now: Comets

I saw two comets this week.

My life in the countryside doesn't afford me friends I could see on a daily basis. That was a choice and I quite like it that way. It works because me and my girls, we have regular orbits around each other and in this, we trust.

I have two friends who are comets. Their orbits are both long, visible to me only once every three or four years. I get to see the second comet every time she’s on the precipice of something new, exciting, and a bit scary. Every coffee we've had together– all four of them– feels marked and important, heralding a new and important journey ahead. Her arrival into my night sky is a reminder to follow the whisper.

My first sighting of the first comet was 24 years ago or so. She was my first intern in the design studio. She's intuitive, smart, funny as hell, and has the same verve today as she did then, the same infectious laugh that can decrescendo suddenly to a quiet, focused seriousness. She demonstrates caring as an active, dynamic verb. Whether it's people, animals, or ideas that are beneficiaries of said care, energy comes alive when she activates it. Seeing her this week gave great context to my first sighting. She'd come to learn. And from then on, whenever she makes contact, she brings so much back. Now, I'm learning.

It’s bewildering to know I’ve met each of these women only three or four times over the course of our adulthoods. My heart feels full knowing that we’ve been witness to each other, girls becoming women. I’m lucky to count them as my friends and peers today.

Who are the comets that streak your night sky?

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Your thoughts fuel mine.

Tell me what you're thinking about. Dreaming about. And what exactly you're doing about the thing you've been dreaming about.

Capture some images. Savor afterimages.

Have a great weekend,

Akiko

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