There is meaning in stopping for a moment and savoring it. That is what life is all about.

When you live your life in a rush every day, doesn't time just fly by?

When raising children, things tend to get at their busiest, but
sometimes I find myself thinking, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

It is a situation born of desperation, but
I wonder... what is left after rushing through every day and getting things done?

My past as an efficiency-driven person

I myself used to be in such a huge rush through life.
I hated waste and thought that being efficient in everything was best.
But aiming for efficiency wasn't something that should be applied to "everything."

In the midst of a busy daily life, everything just passes by.

There is meaning in stopping for a moment and savoring it. That is what life is all about.
That is what I think now.

By only focusing on getting things done efficiently,
I feel like I wasn't really savoring life at all until then.

Spend time on the things you want to cherish

Even now, in my work, I seek efficiency for routine tasks.
But that is because I want to be able to spend "time" and "energy"
on the things I want to do and the things I want to cherish.

For example, at work, I want to spend time on creative tasks.

In my private life, I enjoy taking the time and effort to do handiwork like making plum syrup or pickled plums,
while feeling the seasons.

You can get them right away if you buy them at the supermarket, but I realized that this time spent on handiwork makes life even richer.

The same goes for time with my children.
Instead of nagging them to "Hurry up, hurry up!", I try to spend time feeling their daily growth and changes. In reality, that can be quite difficult, though... (bitter laugh). That is how I try to keep things in mind.

Instead of aiming for efficiency in everything, I am accumulating time
while cherishing the "things I want to cherish" in my daily life.

Close your eyes and remember the present

There are moments when I think, "Oh, I want to remember this feeling right now."
At times like that, I stop, close my eyes, and take a deep breath.
The scenery in front of me, the quality of the light, the feel of my skin...
I try to use my five senses to burn that scene into my heart.

By doing so, it stays firmly in my memory,
and even later, I can vividly recall the scene from that time.

Not rushing through life, but savoring it.
I want to continue to cherish every day like that.