The Yin Leopard is different.

It is an energy that ... among other things ... is the source of Aliveness.

To characterize it ... merely ... as discerning, yielding, nurturing, and cool ... this would be incomplete. It embodies those qualities, but it does so in a sky-like gradient; there are not-so-obvious components too.

The Yin Leopard carries Soft power. It has a strength neither blatant nor rooted in brute force, but it is internally coherent in its own right.

I've been drawn to the Yin Leopard for as long as I can remember. Nurse Joy in Pokemon and Kagome from Inuyasha are two early examples. Both female characters are of course different, but there is a shared aura in them (and others) that I like. Trustworthiness is what they radiated.

Jin Bu-yeon (진부연) from Alchemy of Souls ... she has a core of innocence, but also uncharted intuition. 급이 다르다. That is to say, she is on a different level. And of course, Naksu (낙수) ... the shadow assassin ... what more can I say about her.

Kang Sae-byeok (강새벽) was my favourite character in Squid Game. She was cool and reserved but was ... when the time called for it ... ready to put it all on the line. She quietly held her own until destiny had other plans. I related to her the most in that series.

The Korean Instance

Speaking of destiny, I was pulled to South Korea for several reasons I didn't author. For one, I love East Asian gastronomy, but more than that ... I feel that South Korea has an unusually dense concentration of ... different modes of the Yin Leopard that is uniquely charming.

I think I was made for it. For one, there are particular Korean dramas that map out the mechanics of Love in a way that no one else touches.

And there is nothing like an integrated Kpop performance. Not only can the music be melodious, but there are lyrics that flow like water. There are, in my eyes, a handful of performers who embody the Yin Leopard. They can move with an engineered nonchalance that, in the finished product, comes off as effortless charisma.

I met my wife in Seoul. I was looking to learn Korean, and she was looking to learn English. We started out as just friends, sincerely. Fast forward to today. The way she organizes the home is fascinating. Use of space for function and form while preserving empty space where it's needed. Some kind of spatial integration. She's got a knack for Korean history and lights up when she can teach me that or tell me stories of One Piece. She's something of an otaku, and also, has grown to be a solid chef and baker.

Care and Love

A Yin Leopard ... to a degree ... is built through environment. There is of course the seed that is already present. It is always a coalescence.

I didn't plan to be under the Care of a Yin Leopard or vice versa. But movements in either direction, when raw and spontaneous, are twin flavours of peak existence.

Care is beyond tending to one's needs. Restaurant staff tends to my needs too, and while appreciated, this is not necessarily the same as Care. What I'm talking about is the feeling of pure feminine spirit knowing me well enough to see, surface, and patch my blindspots. Someone whose presence alone creates the mysterious conditions for Clarity to spawn within me. I realized this last part only recently. I've got a nomadic spirit, and for years I've cherished my solitude.

The Yin Leopard also gives Love in an unrelenting fashion ... and is fiercely loyal by by disposition, as a matter of course — that is to say, it is what it is. There is no performance.

And about Softness. Such a fluffy little thing ... this can carry tremendous force when possessed by one whose Love is steadfast.

Today I have an ever-clearer sense of what I am genuinely moved by ... but this wasn't always the case. I've been led astray by ideals that were not mine, ideals that were thrust forth by school, media, and fellow clueless humans.

Despite this ... deep down, I always knew that regardless of what nonsense we are brainwashed to believe, subscribe to and "like" ... none of it holds a candle to Love. I don't mean love in the sense of romance, or even a happily-ever-after story. No, that's not what I'm talking about.

By Love ... I mean something that motivates integration ... the idea that my life can actually be of structurally-sound, elegant design ... where I feel selfless, lost in the Moment.

The surviving Fire

My interests have evolved, my relationships have changed, and my self-understanding is vastly more legitimate now. This particular feminine energy, it grabs me all the same however; it is the oldest force in my life.

And to me, there was always some roundabout connection between it and fate. I think I finally know why.

The Yin Leopard gives fate a face ... one that is pretty, honest, and full of wonder. And because it kickstarts multiple Fires inside and out, it is indeed a source of Aliveness unlike any other.