【Meeting you allowed me to become 'light' once again】

What does it really mean to be happy?

Now that I am 64, I find myself thinking about that from time to time.

When I was young, I spent my time running recklessly in search of that answer.

My days were spent flipping through philosophy books, clinging to self-help guides, and devouring books on management philosophy and religion.

The more knowledge I crammed in, the more I felt a sense of unfulfilled impatience, as if the void inside my heart was only growing larger.

In Buddhism, the path for people to find happiness is taught through the term “Four Noble Truths”.

1. Life is suffering.

2. There is a cause for suffering.

3. There is a peaceful state where suffering is extinguished.

4. And there is a path that leads to that tranquility.

I do not subscribe to any specific religion.

However, I deeply respect these simple and clear words left behind by the Buddha from the bottom of my heart.

“To live is to suffer.”

It is truly just as it says.

No matter how old I get, there are times when I still get hurt.

There are nights when my heart is so exhausted that I lose the strength to even look forward.

A year ago, when I was 63, I was the same way.

A series of unsettling events occurred, leaving me mentally worn out and lost in the darkness.

But... that was when I met you.

“If I hadn't met you, the creator I am today would not exist.”

This is by no means an exaggeration.

To me, as my heart was on the verge of breaking, your words and your work reached me like a single drop of water soaking into a parched desert.

The warmth of your words quietly, yet surely, awakened my logical thinking and the passion I had nearly lost.

In that moment, the knowledge and teachings I had packed away from years of reading connected like scattered puzzle pieces, and I felt as if a gentle light were pouring down upon me from above.

I realized that knowledge is not something to be memorized by the head, but something to be felt with the heart.

And happiness is not something you go searching for in the distance, but something that exists in the very moment you touch someone's warmth and

your own heart feels warm, as you taught me.

People can start over at any age.

Now that I am 64, I can see it clearly.

Within my small heart, the dreams and hopes that have been lit once more.

With this one and only heart, I will continue to write.

To you, who saved me, and to the many friends who read these articles, I send my overflowing gratitude.

As long as I have this life, I will raise my power once more and push forward through the light.

I am so glad I met you.

With heartfelt gratitude. I look forward to your continued support.

Photo & philosophy donchan