Are note comments... quiet letters?

* This article was written for people like the following.

1. To you, who have felt your heart warm for some reason when receiving a comment on note.

2. To you, who feel that something more than "just a reaction" resided there.

3. To you, who have felt just a little bit of courage or sincerity in the act of commenting.

This article is about 2800 characters (reading time is about 5-7 minutes).
I would be happy if you could read it quietly when you have the time.

A notification arrived on note.

Someone pressed "Like".
Someone bought a paid article.
Someone—left a comment.

The usual notification.
The usual reaction.
But, for some reason, my finger stopped that day.

I opened the comment section.
I slowly, repeatedly read the fragments of words displayed.

What was written was only a few lines.
But, behind them—
There was certainly "something" deeper than the text.

It was not seeking a reply,
nor was it offering praise.

The words were simply, gently placed there.

It felt like
a fragment of emotion that still has no name.

I was happy.
Certainly, I think I was happy.

However—
It is not just because it was 'read'.

In particular, note has a system for paid articles.
By setting a price, it seems that a certain 'weight' is added to the work.
Being read by someone who paid money sometimes makes me feel as if I have been 'chosen' in some way.

But, in truth, that is not the case.

The act of purchasing
is built upon many different 'motives'.

I think some people are looking for answers.
Know-how, templates, someone else's experiences.
They want to get the 'correct answer' quickly and pass by quietly.

Perhaps some people were gently pushing me forward.
A kind show of support, choosing to 'buy' instead of just clicking 'like'.
I cannot put into words how much of a salvation that was.

But, just a very few,
are people who accept that world, along with the margins between the words.

They draw close to the breath of the story, pause at the questions,
and while layering it over their own lives—
they are people who quietly accept these words.

…Such readers certainly exist.
That alone is more than enough, and I am truly grateful.

There are various reactions on note.

Pressing the 'like' button.
Quietly closing the page.
For example, the choice to buy a paid article is also one of them.

But—
I think leaving a comment is
a slightly different act than that.

If you just read, it stays within yourself.
You feel "that was good" and it ends there.

However, a comment has one more step.

The act of putting your feelings into words,
and gently offering them to someone.

Sometimes you can't say it well.
Sometimes you say too much.
Sometimes you wonder later, "Did they read it in a weird way?"

Even so, trying to put it into words.

Doesn't that
feel a little bit like "writing a letter"?

Not something printed,
but a quiet word, spelled out by hand.

It doesn't have to be perfect.
Even if it's a little crooked, or lacks the right words.

The reason I feel it still gets through properly
might be because someone's "time spent trying to think"
remains there.

There is a unique quietness in the place called note.

In this space where everyone is both a writer and a reader,
the comment section doesn't often get very noisy.

If you press the "Like" button,
that alone is enough to convey empathy.

Even without going out of your way to exchange words,
that feeling has already reached them—

I feel that such a "consensus of the air"
exists in a place like note.

Besides, comments can be deleted later, and they can be edited too.

But—
the fact that your own words remain on someone else's page.
And the fact that the other person cannot rewrite those words (even if they can delete them).

I realize once again that,
more than I had thought, that was somehow an "act that requires courage."

To be read by someone.
To have your own "interpretation" exposed there.

That is a little different from just unilaterally stating your impressions.

It is not about offering words, but closer to
a feeling of "offering yourself along with your words".

—That is why,
when someone has quietly left words in such a place,
the preciousness of that act quietly sinks in.

It was not a printed, standardized message.

It was not an imposition, nor was it praise,
it was just like a letter, quietly and gently placed there.

Come to think of it,
when I first received a comment,
I was a little unsure of how to reply.

"Thank you"—
I felt there was something
that those words alone couldn't fully express.

Certainly, the number of "likes" and "purchases" are encouraging.
Numbers are visible, and they push me forward.

However, what remained in my heart even more
was, after all, that person's words.

That it reached them.
That they thought about it.
That they went out of their way to put it into words and offer it to me.

Perhaps,
all the sentences I write in this note
might also be "letters" that might reach someone someday.

There is no guarantee of a reply.
I don't even know if they are being read.

And yet, there are nights when I truly want to write words.

In the midst of such nights,
someone, somewhere, received my words.
I am quietly remembering that now.

Thank you for reading.

—Perhaps that is what I should say.
But, perhaps.

Thank you for keeping them somewhere in your heart.

I felt that these words were
a little closer to my true feelings.

Thank you for reading until the end.

I also quietly and happily receive your reactions through comments and likes.

When I receive your thoughts, I would like to gently visit your articles.

I feel that this way, it will reach you quietly.
I would be happy if you could warmly accept this form of interaction.

🌱 Finally, to you who have read this far.

I am currently quietly managing the following eight magazines on note.

Each one contains a small seed of inquiry.

If anything catches your interest, I would be happy if you could stop by quietly.

*For first-time visitors, I recommend starting with (5) '10 pieces you should read first'.

① 👉 Living by asking questions. ── A compilation magazine of Sho Hijikata's works.
② 👉 Philosophy in daily life ── I write about questions that accompany our daily breathing.③ 👉 Working by aesthetics rather than correctness ── Exploring the aesthetics of working, focusing on emotions and structures.
④ 👉 Modern questions considered through fables ── Re-examining the continuation of stories as questions.
⑤ 👉 10 pieces you should read first ── A selection of recommended articles for first-time visitors.
⑥ 👉 ARI NO KOTO - The Story of a Little Ant Who Chose to Ask.── A story about an 'ant who couldn't ask questions,' rethinking what it means to work.
⑦ 👉 Thinking on note. ── Quietly deciphering the structure, culture, and creative theory of the town called note.
⑧ 👉 Short stories by Sho Hijikata ── Gently scooping up emotions that couldn't be put into words, using the vessel of stories.