"Is that really true?" opened up my world. Problems were the gateway to expanding my world. ~

"I have to try harder."

"I have to do things properly."

"I must not fail."

Are there days when such words won't stop echoing in your head?

When you open social media, you see someone else's success.

"I have to start something too."

"I have to try harder."

Sometimes, that sense of impatience just grows larger.

But I have words I ask myself precisely at those times.

"Is that really true?"

And one more thing.

"Then, how can I do it?"

These two questions

have changed my life little by little.

Looking back,

rather than having solved problems,

it is thanks to problems that my world has expanded.

Is "the way things should be" actually true?

One day, a child said,

"I don't want to eat meat."

I said that.

At first, I also

"You won't get enough nutrition."

thought that.

But the thought that came to mind at that moment was

"Is that really true?"

the question.

"If I don't eat meat, can I really not be healthy?"

Once I started thinking that way,

the world began to change little by little.

"Then, how can I do it?"

If there is a way to stay healthy without eating meat,

let's look into it.

let's try it.

What about protein?

What about iron?

What about B vitamins?

What kinds of beans are there?

Soybeans.

Chickpeas.

Lentils.

Tempeh.

Natto.

Miso.

Koji.

Before I knew it,

Bean hamburger steaks.

Dumplings without meat.

Koji consommé.

Chinese-style koji.

Soy milk made with nine types of beans.

Dishes that are satisfying even with just vegetables.

It wasn't that the number of "things I couldn't do" had increased.

What I thought were "limitations" were actually gateways to curiosity.

On the contrary,

the things I could do had expanded many times over.

Problems were the gateway to play.

Looking back,

I don't feel like I was solving problems.

I was just,

"That looks interesting."

"Let's give it a try."

I was simply following those feelings.

That is why, rather than memories of hardship,

I have many more memories of being completely absorbed in play.

It was the same at the roadside station.

When the sales space at the roadside station became smaller,

the first thing I thought was,

"Maybe I won't be able to sell anything anymore."

That was my anxiety.

Even though I had gone to the trouble of making the products.

What should I do?

But even then, I stopped in my tracks.

"Is that really true?"

It won't sell because the space is small.

Is that really true?

Then,

what if you added height?

What if you changed how they were arranged?

What if you placed samples out so people could try the scent?

As I kept finding creative ways to play like that,

the number of customers stopping by increased compared to before.

Problems,

were not things that troubled me.

They were doors leading to a world I had yet to see.

It wasn't because I had the time that I could do it

"You can do it because you have the time, right?"

I am sometimes told that.

But,

it was the same when I was a company employee.

Even when I was busy,

"Is that really so?"

If I thought that, I would look it up.

If I thought it looked interesting, I would try it out.

It wasn't time,

but curiosity that moved first.

Dots become lines later on

Koji.

Wild plants.

English.

AI.

Psychology.

Child-rearing.

Each one of these

seems completely unrelated.

But looking back,

"Because I had that experience."

"Because I knew that."

There have been many moments when I could think that way.

Life,

eventually forms a single line, doesn't it?

"Is that really so?" is a magic phrase that expands the world.

Even now,

when I am lost about something,

I always ask myself.

"Is that really so?"

And then,

"Then, how can I make it happen?"

Rather than searching for the correct answer,

cherish your curiosity.

Instead of trying to eliminate problems,

try playing with the world.

When you do that,

events that were "troublesome" until yesterday,

can sometimes become doors leading to new scenery today.

That is why I,

even when problems arise,

"My world might expand again."

I have come to be able to think that way.

Something I want to ask you today

If right now,

"I have to do it properly."

"I have to try harder."

If you are feeling distressed by thoughts like these,

it doesn't matter if it's on paper or a smartphone memo.

Please try writing down what is bothering you the most right now.

And then, just one phrase next to it.

"Is that really true?"

Please try writing that.

Beyond that question,

Scenery that you hadn't seen before

might gradually begin to expand.

Rather than the correct answers taught by others,

your own world

should gradually come into view.

The axis of your life

is not something you receive from someone else,

but perhaps something that grows quietly

as you continue to ask questions.

So today,

if you are lost about something,

please try asking just once.

"Is that really so?"

That question,

not to trouble you,

but perhaps to gently take you

to a world you have yet to see.

🌿 Essays on playing with the world

In this series,

"Hmm."

"Why is that?"

From such small curiosities, I have come to see,

I am writing about my perspective on the world and my daily realizations.

Recommended reading

📖 My teacher was the world.

📖 The story of how I, who was bad at studying, have played with the world.

📖 In life, the journey is more interesting than the destination.

📖 When I let go of "how things should be," the world became much more interesting.

Let's meet again somewhere in the world 🌿

#LivingIsHard
#LivingAuthentically
#SelfAcceptance
#BlamingMyself
#Assumptions
#Stereotypes
#OrganizingMyMind
#IsThatReallySo
#HowThingsShouldBe
#Life