Author: Satoru Hirose

 

Our small hands create this world.
私たちの小さな手が、この世界を創る。

 

13.8 billion years and around 80 years.

Compared to the age of the Universe, our lifespan is a fraction. But it doesn’t matter — this is what we cannot control.

What matters is whether each one of us creates something, either tangible or intangible, with our hands every single day. This is how the world we can see around has been created.

We may not see immediate results of what we do now. But we have to continue doing what matters to us and people around us. That’s the only way to make a dent in the Universe — at a fraction of the time.

 

 

Create a new window to open.
切り開く新たな機会を創り出そう。

 

I once thought that a window of opportunity was given. By someone else, luck or chance — by something outside of us. Something out of our control.

Now I believe that we can create a window of opportunity. We cannot always control the outcome, but creating opportunities is under our control. And choosing opportunities is our choice.

Everything we do can lead to a new opportunity. Stay focused, and enjoy the journey.

 

 

Revisit your roots.
自分のルーツを見直そう。

 

September 27.

9 years ago, my father passed away on this date. My mother was not at his bedside because she was in another hospital. She couldn’t come to father’s funeral since she was unable to move at all due to her disease. I didn’t know what she thought of his death because she was unable to speak as well.

My parents often fought with each other since my childhood. I had more bad memories of my parents than good ones. I often thought why they were my parents.

We all have a story to tell about the relationship with our parents. Good or bad. Dramatic or boring. Peaceful or hostile. No matter what our perceptions are, the fact is that we weren’t born in this world if we didn’t have biological parents. All we need to do is accept the fact, appreciate that we are here, move on and see what we can do about it.

I cannot do anything about the relationship with my parents any more because both of them already passed away. But twice a year — today and February 16, the date my mother passed away — I revisit my perceptions about my parents and try to convert negative ones into positive ones.

I’m still moving on and figuring out what I can do for my parents.

 

 

We are all winners in the first place.
私たちは皆、勝利者。

 

When it comes to life, winning or losing is not the fact. It’s just the state of mind.

Life is a serious game. It can be quite difficult at times. But it is also the game that everyone can win. Many people don’t think that way. They are like “I want to win (but don’t even care even if someone is losing instead)”. Even self-help gurus don’t always think that way. Some of them are like “come to my seminar, so you can be successful like me (while you make me rich for sure)”.

Either consciously or subconsciously, we think that there are always winners and losers. It just turns out that we are just labeling people (including ourselves) as a winner or loser based upon our own criteria, which differ from person to person.

Our life is full of winning. Waking up in the morning is winning. Being healthy is winning. Spending time with loved ones is winning. Doing what you like is winning. And on top of that, being alive is winning.

Why do we have to label our life as something else? Why do we have to consider other people as a loser although doing so doesn’t make our life better? It just doesn’t make sense.