It will all work out
Hello everyone, this is Inves.
I'm hooked on bread.
To be precise, I'm hooked on making it.
The first thing I thought after quitting my job was, "Maybe I'll open a bakery."
That was it.
There's a really delicious bakery in my hometown,
a bakery with a wood-fired oven,
where the freshly baked melon pan is
crispy on the outside,
and fluffy on the inside,
and the moment you bite into it, you're just happy.
It disappears right away.
That's the kind of bakery I first thought I wanted to run.
But now, I don't really feel that way anymore.
I've decided to look at other things and take my time thinking about it.
From a life like a corporate slave,
my own time has finally returned to my daily life, and there are many moments where I think,
I'm glad I made the decision to quit.
But there's still the matter of where to move, how to earn an income in the future, and so on.
I find myself thinking about a lot of things, and I do feel somewhat busy.
What surprised me the most was that
I don't feel as much anxiety about quitting my job as I thought I would.
There's no end to it, really.
Worrying about the future is pointless.
I've already made up my mind.
My boss at the company asks things like, what are you going to do next?
Do you have any leads?
What's the reason, are you really going to quit?
They try to talk me into staying at the company in various ways.
I'm grateful. I'm truly grateful for that.
I've already had seven meetings about it.
At times like that, I just stay silent. I listen to what they have to say until the end, and then I stay silent.
In my heart, I'm thankful. But I stay silent.
There were also people who tried to make me voice my anxieties.
What does your wife say about it?
How did you decide to resign?
These are tough times. What are we going to do?
Here is the ultimate secret technique.
It will work out.
Say it slowly to yourself three times in your heart.
Then, the burden will quietly fade away (this happens often).
Roughly speaking, in the Okinawan language,it means "things will work out."
I used to think so too.
But the meaning of this phrase is much deeper.
The true meaning of the Okinawan dialect "Nankurunaisa"
It means "Makutu sooke" (if you do the right thing, if you act with sincerity), then "Nankurunaisa" (it will work out). It means "If you walk the right path without giving up and put in the effort, a good day will come eventually." It is not a phrase that simply implies an optimistic outlook that "things will just work out."
That is right."Nankurunaisa" is not an optimistic phrase.
And it continues like this.
I learned that it is actually a phrase that elders or those around you say with a prayer when you have reached a point where you can no longer handle things on your own, and the softness, kindness, and brightness of the sound of the words really touched my heart.
Knowing the history of Okinawa makes these words sink in even deeper.
When I heard a participant in a project say these words while playing the role of a grandmother in a war play where one person took on multiple roles, I felt the true strength of this phrase and the various thoughts embedded within it. I think this phrase might be filled with many meanings, such as salvation, prayer, and compassion for the people of Okinawa who have long been tossed about by invasions and wars. It is a powerful phrase derived from the pain of thinking seriously about living.
The world is full of hardships, and most things may not go well, but if you live with all your might, it will surely lead to happiness. I believe "Nankurunaisa" is an important island phrase left to us by our predecessors, uttered to help us believe in that.
If it's Inves, you'll be fine, won't you?
If you ever have a hard time or feel like something is impossible,
just tell me anytime. If you keep doing your best, you'll surely be happy.
I wish my boss or superiors had said something like that to me.
They say similar things when we're working.
But when I quit, they only asked for the reason.
So, I chanted 'Nankurunaisa' to myself,
imagining it was an Okinawan grandmother who survived the war saying it to me,
while listening to my boss and colleagues.
I wonder if they'd say it to me even now (a wish).
I will say it.
To many people.
To troubled young people.
To troubled humanity.
To my troubled self.
Adding the true meaning of 'Nankurunaisa'.