A Letter For Otto Bear

A Name from the Gods Bestowed 11 Years Ago

It’s my oldest son’s birthday is today, he’s 11. When my wife and I got married and moved to Tokyo, Japan a few weeks later we didn’t have our minds set on having kids and growing a family. Not that it wasn’t discussed or wanted, it just wasn’t the main driver. We didn’t have some grand vision or plan to start a family, it was more about finding that perfect compliment and companion to adventure through life with.

After 2 years in Japan and travelling around Asia exploring we got pregnant. It both wasn’t planned and planned - we sort of just threw it up to the powers that be and decided it would happen whenever it happened and that would be the right time and it would be great. That turned out to be true… within like 3 weeks.

We made that decision because our friends and neighbors had a 7 year old boy and a 1 year old girl and they showed us the way. They took their kids with them everywhere and made them just a normal part of their life. We back-packed with them AND their kids for 2 weeks around southeast Asia - staying in hostels in Kuala Lampur, hiked through the dense jungles of Borneo, and ate/partied at rooftop fish markets at 10pm in Kuching.

They really empowered us and gave us the confidence to do the same. That was really our only ever intention, to take the kids along with us for the ride and make them a part of the lives we wanted to live (and raise them to be great humans of their own). I’m so grateful to Kat and Justin for doing that for us. Without them, we wouldn’t have Otto.

And he’s the best

Every year on his birthday I write him a letter. From me to him, man to man. This years’ letter may be my best writing ever. Honestly. When I finished it I walked over to my wife and just told her “it’s the best thing I’ve ever written, by far.” I had a rare moment of creative flow and found a way to channel it into the words. I couldn’t have done this 3 months ago before I started writing everyday and posting it here on Substack. It’s testament to what practice and the process does… the outcome is progress.

I came downstairs to the office and typed it out on my Tower Constellation. I finished around midnight, right when the day clicked over to February 7th. I walked it upstairs, sat at the table with my wife Bri, and read it to her. We both were sobbing within 20 seconds. Tears of joy and love are the best.

I packaged it up, sealed it in the envelope, and set it on the table for Otto to read this morning. When he woke up we all sat at the table and he asked me to read it to him. I obliged and we all sobbed our way through it together. Beautiful. A moment I’ll always remember.

Anyways - I have permission to share the letter with you all. I know I already said this, but… it’s GREAT. If you’re in our family or close to Otto (or you just want to really READ it) and you’ve gotten this far please remember the instructions from my very first post:

A Letter For Otto Bear:

Dear Otto Bear,

Do you know why we call you Otto Bear? It’s not just that you were a giant baby, although that did play a role, or the fact that you’ve always been so tough and strong. It’s because even without intention behind it from your mom and I, the name was… just you. It wasn’t planned or thought through or devised by anyone, it just found its natural place, bestowed upon you.

Think of it more like a gift itself that the universe gave to you. It’s a more special gift than you might think. A name like that brings with it real power and energy.

The bear, especially large bear species like a grizzly, are fierce apex predators. An apex predator means they are at the top of the food chain, there are no animals in the wild in their environment that hunt them. Despite being apex predators bears are also omnivores, like humans, which means they eat plants and other animals. At first this might seem like a “mid” fact but it’s not - the only apex predators on earth that are omnivores are bears and humans, that’s it. It’s a special club.

Why special? Because being omnivorous has the advantage of being highly adaptable to many different environments. Before you were born or even had a name your Mom and I promised ourselves that we would be parents that took our kids with us through the adventures of life. We set an intention for you to be adaptable, just like bears, to many different situations.

This trait is, and always has been, one of your biggest strengths. You have an ability to thrive in many different situations that most people don’t have. Whether that’s in school and learning academics with your mind or sports and learning physicality with your body. You have this unique ability to adapt and learn and pick up new things and meet new people and fit in everywhere you go. It’s not a coincidence.

One of the other things that makes you Otto Bear is that when you were little, every couple of weeks your body would need to sleep for wayyy longer than a typical child. You’d go to bed for a nap at 2pm and somehow sleep until 8am the next morning, 18 hours long. We were so scared the first time it happened that we took you to the hospital and had all kinds of tests run and they all came back negative. The doctors just looked at us and said you’re fine and to let you sleep as long as your body needed to sleep. Just like a bear hibernates.

Did you know that female bears actually give birth while hibernating? Meaning that all bears are born in a den, in the middle of winter. Do you know what happened the moment your mom started going into labor? It started snowing. This wasn’t just any snow storm either, it was the biggest snow storm in 100 years in Tokyo. It was the first time they shut down the subway and train system in decades. We got almost 3 feet of snow in the 17 hours from when your mom went into labor to the time you were born (it was a long day).

I like to think that the universe knew you were going to be born that day and the storm was its welcoming party to you. You created and took that much energy to get your big body out of your mom’s womb and into this world. It’s not a coincidence.

Bears are also incredibly smart and intelligent. They are one of the only species that remembers food sources and can plan. They are excellent problem solvers and even show creative behaviors in outsmarting human hunters. They are one of the only creatures on earth that has been known to use tools as well.

You share this trait with bears too. Your brain since you were little was always figuring out how to do things and be creative. Your mom and I would always joke that if you did something or tried something once you would always just get it from that moment on. As soon as you’d get over the hurdle of doing it, whatever it was, and even if you failed the first time, you just confidently went about doing it and never looked back.

Never forget this superpower. It’s two fold - don’t be scared to try the first time and then confidently go do it the second time and every time thereafter. Bears have the ability to learn to fish and where to fish. They are shown by their mothers once they are ready to and often fail the first time they try to catch salmon. Inevitably they figure it out and succeed, their survival depends on it, and feast on delicious salmon.

Wait, isn’t salmon your favorite food? Not a coincidence.

Did you know that the Japanese Ainu people held bears in great reverence? In their mythology they considered them god like creatures or gods in animal form. They believed bears had supernatural powers. I believe you have those same powers, you were born in Japan, after all.

Here is the craziest one (and I didn’t even know this until I started writing this letter!), so crazy I almost can’t believe it. Our families’ ancestors came from the Nordic cultures, we are descendants of Vikings. The Viking warriors, or Norse warriors, were called “Berserkers”. These warriors were said to have channeled the power of the bear and enter into a trance like state of rage in battle. The word “Berserker” literally means “bear-coat” as if the warriors went into battle with a bear suit of armor.

It gets better. Do you know who the chief “God” of Norse mythology is?

Odin.

When the Berserkers went into battle it was believed that Odin was their patron, the god who granted them the bear like abilities and his battle fury. They believed Odin gave them supernatural powers and made them immune to pain. Somehow without knowing that, we named your brother Odin. Your whole life you will be able to channel the supernatural abilities of Odin when you need them most. Not a coincidence.

Now you can see the name is much more than just a name. It’s all those things and all of the universes magic channeled into one being, you. It’s a special thing that only you can claim. You must use it wisely though, for good and only when you need it, or when someone else needs it from you. It’s always in you.

It is you. It’s just you.

Love,

Dad