Koi no yokan is a phenomenon that defies logic, sense, and reason, yet can happen to anyone, no matter how logical, sensible, or reasonable. Loosely translated as a premonition of love, it refers to the experience of knowing the first time we meet someone that we will fall in love with that person.
Not to be mistaken with the notion of love at first sight, a premonition of love is characterized by its unrealized potential. Rather than an immediate flood of intense feeling, koi no yokan is a gentle stream that flows into our hearts and starts to fill them drip by drip. What it shares with the idea of love at first sight is an instinct based on countless unconscious signals that stem from deep within our development that a person we have just met has something we value and that we want in our lives.
It may be a look in a person’s eyes that winks at our hearts and stirs the embers inside. it maybe the physical presence of someone who has just debuted in our lives to change their course that pulls our compass needles. It may be the way they conduct themselves in an action or in a moment that signals so meaningfully to us. No matter what triggers koi no yokan, the common thread in any situation is that we do not need to know the reason for it; we need only acknowledge it because when it happens, it is destined to run its course.
To surrender ourselves to the natural progression of our premonitions requires patience, openness, a level of comfort with unanswered questions, and willingness to go on a journey leading into uncharted territory – some of it beautiful and some of it terrifying – with the faith that the destination is worth it. The destination may not be anything like what we imagine, and it will be a different place that we find with each of the different people we are destined to love. Whether a romantic lover, a forever friend, a personal hero, or an intimate muse, along every journey we learn we are capable of a new and unique way to bond with someone special.
The path we take in pursuit of love shares many attributes with the path we take in pursuit of budo. It can help us grow when we are at a critical stage in our development; it can explode our world into brilliant colours by giving us a new perspective; and it can nurture our hearts for many years, filling them day by day with wonder, inspiration, and fulfillment. Like budo, love is an active pursuit and requires training to realize its potential. Intuition may guide us to toward taking the first steps, but dedication will show us the way forward.
The more we invite love into our lives and devote ourselves to its development, the more we discover what it means and how great is our capacity for it. Love lives in our budo and budo flourishes with love. Both pursuits can surprise us, change us in ways we could never imagine, and show us that some journeys, no matter how unexpected or seemingly impossible to traverse, are necessary to become who we are meant to be. It is only when we look back on how far we have come with the people we are meant to be with that we can understand how we knew they were part of our journey from the beginning.
by a Senior Koroku Member 蝶
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