For our wedding, we chose a honeymoon fund instead of a traditional registry. Still, a few guests surprised us with physical gifts, and one of them completely stole my heart because of how deeply symbolic it is. It represents one of the most important cores of any relationship: having shared goals.
My friend Yukari gave us a beautiful Daruma doll.
In Japanese culture, a Daruma represents perseverance, intention, and good luck. Traditionally, the doll comes with no eyes, and you are meant to draw them yourself. You paint one eye when you set a goal, and the second when that goal is fulfilled.
You begin with the right side of the doll, which is the Daruma’s left eye, and later you complete the other one. The eyes symbolize the A-Un, a Buddhist concept that represents the beginning and the end of all things. The first eye is A, the start. The second is Un (or Hum), the completion. A quiet reminder that every intention has a journey.
As you can see, our Daruma is still blank.
We are waiting for some exciting news that may reshape our next big goals, so for now, we are holding space for what is coming. When the moment feels right, we will paint that first eye and send our wish into the universe.
And when that wish is granted, we will complete the second one.
I promise to keep you updated when we finally whisper our dream to the spirit of the Daruma and, someday, celebrate its fulfillment. 🧿✨