Thoughts, Words, and Body...

These are all closely connected...

If the balance of any one of them is lost...

your heart catches a cold, doesn't it ^^;

And, when you feel like things are tough...

Hmm?

If you look very closely, if you add one more stroke to the character for 'tough' (tsurai), it becomes 'happy' (shiawase)!

When things are tough, you might just be one step away from happiness (smile).

These words are part of a poem accompanying a picture titled 'Narcissus' in Tomihiro Hoshino's flower poetry collection, 'Clocks with Different Speeds'.

'Clocks with Different Speeds - Flower Poetry Collection' by Tomihiro Hoshino

'I feel like everyone has a clock that runs at a different speed.

I think my clock moves a little slowly.

Since someone with a sense of time like a snail lives in a quiet mountain village, dealing with flowers that only bloom once a year, my clock just keeps falling behind.' (From the text)

Tomihiro Hoshino 'Narcissus'

'If there is a flower
called happiness,
it might be
like the bud of that flower

There is a character for tough.
I feel like I could
become happy
with just a little more'

Being tough is one step before happiness.

It might be painful and tough right now, but if you only look at that and focus on it, you will never be able to escape the negative cycle ^^;

If you have positive people around you, you can receive good influence from them.

Even if there is no one like that, try choosing an environment that will have a positive influence on your feelings and way of thinking.

It might be difficult at first, but try to keep yourself in an environment where you can think as positively as possible. Also, by imagining what you can look forward to after overcoming your hardships, you should be able to see hope if you can just get through the pain, you know?

The philosopher George Henry Lewes once said, 'The only cure for grief is action.' So, if you actually start doing something, it will take your mind off things, and don't you think you might see what to do next? (^^)

I think it's natural to feel like you don't want to do anything when you're going through a hard time, but try starting with something you can manage.

Try to take some action, even a little, so you don't just sit around doing nothing, overthinking, and worrying.

When you all feel like things are tough, why not try thinking about it this way? (^^)

'Thoughts,' 'words,' and 'body'—these represent what Buddhism calls the 'three karmas of body, speech, and mind.'

There are three types of actions: body, speech, and mind. Actions performed with the body are 'body karma,' actions performed by speaking are 'speech karma,' and actions performed by thinking various things in the mind are 'mind karma.'

While laws and morality in our society focus on the actions of the body and speech, Buddhism places the greatest importance on the mind.

What you think in your mind, you perform with your body and express with your words.

In short, the mind is the source of all actions.

Therefore, we must realize that what we think about in our minds every day greatly influences our destiny.

All three karmas become invisible forces stored in the mind, which eventually create our future destiny.

For example, likes and dislikes are not based on logic; the fact that you cannot help but like something or cannot bring yourself to like something is all a result of actions you have cultivated in the past ^^;

Realize that you can create your own destiny, and if you don't create it yourself, the environment won't conveniently build your future for you. It might not go well right away, but let's start by taking action!

To create your future as you wish through your own will and actions, let's try to do what we can right now with all our might, shall we? (^^)

[Reference Books]
'The Law of "Body, Speech, and Mind" to Change Yourself: A Secret Method for Realizing Desires Passed Down from Ancient Japan' by Katsukaku Taneichi

'Ignite the Flame of Success in Your Heart' by Tenpu Nakamura, supervised by the Tenpu-kai Foundation

'Creating a Management Team that Co-creates the Future' by Yoshiyuki Suzuki

"12 Mental Health Welfare Services You Can Rely On" supervised by the Japanese Association of Psychiatric Social Workers