When things don’t go your way and other blog posts (5 to 11 Feb. 2022)

Another week of blog posts from Timbunting.com/blog.

9 min readFeb 18, 2022

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When things don’t go your way

Originally published Feb. 11, 2022 at https://timbunting.com/when-things-dont-go-your-way/

I’ve spent the greater part of the last few hours editing a video. I was working really hard on it but all of a sudden the voiceovers became grey and the sound from them completely disappeared. Looking for a solution on Google bears no fruit, just a series of unsolved problem threads, so I’m going to have to add them in and cut them up again one by one. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again. (Thankfully it’s not a long video)

This is on top of a whole other set of problems I’m having trying to set up a ghost.org blog. I’m finding that I can’t customize the blog at all really besides colour and theme (it seems I need to upgrade and then learn how to code to get what I want), and finding an effective way to import posts from WordPress and medium is proving futile (importing into medium is the most broken I’ve ever seen it).

So, what I thought would be a good solution to my blogging issues turns out to be a whole other can of worms that I’m not sure I have the energy to deal with. And now my video editing software Final Cut Pro X goes and does this weird unsolvable thing.

I’m taking a break. I really wanted to get this video out this morning, and I really wanted to have a ghost blog up and running, but it’s beginning to look like neither of those things is possible.

I’m in a frustrated state of mind, and this could be more harmful than it’s worth, so I’m going to do something until I calm down and can get back to work with a cool head.

When things don’t go your way, do something else until you can accept it.

Writing this has helped, I haven’t had my coffee, so I could do that, and I had promised to do some baking, so I guess I should just do that as well? Even though the urge to do the video and blog is strong, it’ll probably just make me more upset at this stage.

Soul-crushing inspiration

Originally published Feb. 10, 2022 at https://timbunting.com/soul-crushing-inspiration/

It is much easier to make progress when you have something than when you don’t.

We never know when inspiration will strike, we never know when our soul is trying to tell us something, when our soul wants to express itself. We need systems in place to take from this inspiration when it strikes, otherwise we are essentially ignoring what our soul is trying to tell us. This is truly soul-crushing.

When inspiration alone is enough to produce a masterpiece it can feel like a true gift from the heavens. Most of the time though, this inspiration is the spark that leads to starting the process of producing, and given enough tender love and care, this inspiration can become a masterpiece.

As soon as you feel inspiration strike, record your feelings. Whether written, vocalized, or expressed in other media, record your ideas for the inspiration as soon as they come. This much is imperative.

Once this original inspiration is down, you can go with it, or you can feel free continue with your day and let the ideas fester before coming back to them. What matters is that you have utilised the spark, and your soul will thank you in the future.

What you should know: My Drug of Choice

Originally published Feb. 9, 2022 at https://timbunting.com/what-you-should-know-my-drug-of-choice/

You’re going to be fine. If there’s anything that the mountains have taught me over the years, it’s this.

Getting out into nature and simply being there and accepting your place in the world is enough to teach you that you are going to be ok.

Nature doesn’t judge, nature doesn’t discriminate, nature simply lets us feel our place in the world.

That’s why nature is my drug of choice.

I used to binge drink a lot, especially as a teenager and in my early 20s. My two front teeth were chipped from getting drunk and falling over. It’s why they appear yellower in my videos (once you see it you can’t unsee it). It’s also why half a life later I am needing to get the caps replaced.

I drank as a form of escape. I drank as a way to fit in. One thing I am proud of is that my teenage friends and I made a pact that I have always kept: never drink alone.

Now, with a lifetime of perspective, I no longer feel the need. About five years ago, I quit drinking altogether, and my life has been all the better for it. I realised it wasn’t the drinking that mattered, what matters is the company. Good company is all you need (most of the time).

There are some things good company can’t help you with. For those things, nature is your best friend.

You’re going to be fine. Go out into nature and you will see.

(I don’t have a problem with other people drinking, just don’t treat me like a leper when I tell you I don’t drink, it’s not the end of the world).

Dewa Sanzan: The Trifecta

Originally published Feb. 8, 2022 at https://timbunting.com/dewa-sanzan-the-trifecta/

I just posted my Mt. Yudono article completing the trifecta of the three Dewa Sanzan peaks. I even did them in the proper order too, starting with Mt. Haguro in May last year, then Mt. Gassan in August, and now Mt. Yudono in February. I can now say I am reborn (well, once the video is also up on my YouTube channel I guess).

I have written and translated numerous articles about these three peaks over the years, but for these I wanted to give them a personalised touch. I did this by focusing on a climb that I did, and each time it was an epic adventure. Every single time I go there it is amazing. Now I just need to do a better job of sharing this with the world!

Mt. Haguro we climbed from the hidden side, the Haguro Kodo that begins in Shonai Town right where I used to work. I would have passed the entrance at least 20 or so times without knowing that a path to the Dewa Sanzan lay there.

Mt. Gassan I did the Juso, 縦走, the traverse, climbing guided by a yamabushi from the eighth station to the summit where we stayed, and back down to Mt. Yudono. You could count this as going to Mt. Yudono, I did, but now I have an even better story to tell about the last peak on the Dewa Sanzan journey of rebirth.

Mt. Yudono we got to visit in the middle of winter. Traditionally the mountain is closed at this time of year, there’s normally just too much snow to contend with. But I was invited by Shida-san of Gassan Tsutaya Ryokan, a fellow yamabushi who I knew had extensive experience on the mountains. What better chance to visit Mt. Yudono!

The Mt. Gassan article is an almost 30 minute read, and I just found out the Mt. Yudono one is almost 20 minutes. I’m working on adding to the Haguro article, and it’s already nearly a 30 minute read. Over the past few years I’ve been writing a Dewa Sanzan guidebook. It might be time to put that together in a more concrete way methinks!

No Regrets

Originally published Feb. 7, 2022 at https://timbunting.com/no-regrets/

I was once complaining to a friend about a job I had done that I really did not like, and regretted having done in the first place. He piped up with some really good wisdom:

‘at least now you know that’s one thing you don’t like. You know not to do it ever again.’

And he was right.

Things we don’t like, no matter how much we don’t like them, always have a silver lining. We gamble with ourselves everyday with the decisions we make. To do this, to do that. Things we don’t like take a lot of our options straight off the table. It is like a cleanse, getting rid of the things that wouldn’t have made us happy anyway. We shouldn’t regret these things, we should be thankful for the insight they provide.

Updated Home Page and (New?) Mission

Originally published Feb. 6, 2022 at https://timbunting.com/updated-home-page-and-new-mission/

I’ve updated my home page (timbunting.com) and my mission. As you can see I get straight to the point. I asked myself what I most wanted people to know about me, and why they should follow me. Here’s what I came up with:

The Home Page Copy

Kia Koutou. Thanks for visiting. I’m Tim Bunting, the Kiwi Yamabushi.

Struggle is a normal part of everyday life. What matters is how you deal with it.

In April 2016 I received news that no one ever wants to hear. My dad had been out hiking, had a heart attack, and died right then and there. It’s the kind of news that sends shivers through your spine, and for myself it was a true wake-up call. Not only that, my mother is also terminally ill with Alzheimers, a disease so bad you die twice. For someone still in their 30s, this has been very tough to deal with, and I wouldn’t wish anything of the kind even on my worst enemies.

However, less than a week after returning to Japan from my father’s funeral, I had a chance encounter that irrevocably changed my life. I was invited to join the Yamabushido Project providing yamabushi (mountain ascetic, read more here) training to English speakers. I jumped on the chance, and the rest as they say, is history.

I have found yamabushi training to not only be comforting, but a restorative and productive way to deal with these struggles.

By becoming a yamabushi, I have learned what it means to appreciate nature, and through this appreciation I feel Ikigai, which I define as the desire to live well. It is my wish for those around the world who are struggling to learn from my experience, to perhaps join yamabushi training (it’s not a requirement, but it definitely helps), and to discover Ikigai for themselves.

For the past five or so years, I have been working to build the profile of the Yamabushi and the Dewa Sanzan, The Three Sacred Mountains of Dewa where our yamabushi trainings are based here in Yamagata Prefecture. I have written a daily blog since the beginning of 2019, started a yamabushi YouTube channel in 2020, and in 2021 began a project to summit and document the 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata Prefecture on a blog and YouTube channel.

Sign up for the Mountains of Wisdom newsletter (link in header), where I send out a round-up of the week’s blog posts and updates of the 100 Famous Mountains of Yamagata Project, or support my work by following me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Any support that helps me get the word out is much appreciated.

The mission

The mission is still similar to what it was before, making a positive impact day in day out. I’ve just made it more specific: teach the world about yamabushi.

This restatement of my mission and reframing of my homepage helps remind me what is important to me, and why it’s important for me to share the lifestyle of the yamabushi. I don’t think this will change anytime soon, it hasn’t changed in the past two or three years, and in fact I think it has only become more and more important as time has gone on.

Pain Vs. Glory

Originally published Feb. 5, 2022 at https://timbunting.com/pain-vs-glory/

The only thing we know for certain is that things are going to change. So while the struggle may be real in the current moment, given enough time, either the situation will change, the way we think about it will change, or we will change.

Pain is temporary. Glory lasts forever.