A Picture Book That Helps You Know Yourself

Yesterday, I participated in the 'Everyone's Favorite Picture Book Meeting'.

Picture books have important things written in a simple way, and when I read them as an adult, I often think, 'This is nice, this is profound.'


The book recommended by everyone at this meeting, 'Jump, Grasshopper,' was just like that—a book recommended by someone else that I probably wouldn't have picked up myself.

It came up during the sharing time at the meeting, too: 'If we only choose things we like or think are good, we won't change, will we?'

The things I think are good are based on my past values; they are safe, but they aren't new, and they don't broaden my perspective.

Things I wouldn't have chosen myself, or things recommended by others, might not seem good at first, but they are the things that change me.

They bring new values and broaden my horizons.

If I only choose things that are safe and comfortable, I won't change.

When you want to change yourself, you need to choose the path that makes you feel uneasy or anxious.

In 'Jump, Grasshopper,' there is a scene where the grasshopper gets completely fed up with his current environment and decides to do something he has never done before.

You wouldn't normally do that, right?
Something that might even kill you.

Naturally, he must have felt uneasy and anxious.

It was mentioned during the sharing session, but it's rare to truly get fed up with your current environment.
We tend to manage things somehow, thinking, 'Well, I guess it's fine as it is,' and end up maintaining the status quo.
If we feel uneasy or anxious, we stop.

I really understand that feeling.
I am that type of person, and since I'm reasonably capable, I've managed to get by by making adjustments.

At the time, I thought I had handled it well.
But that just meant maintaining the status quo and not changing.

That's why, when you are truly fed up and feel deep down that you don't want to be there, you need to choose the path you've never taken or change your environment, rather than just trying to fix the situation you're in.

The uneasiness and anxiety at that moment are natural reactions to doing something you've never done before, and they don't necessarily mean you are in real danger; that's just what happens when you do something new.

Therefore, you can't change unless you objectively distinguish between whether it's just because you've never done it before or if it's truly dangerous.

If you understand your own system—how human homeostasis and brain reactions work—you can understand the cause of your uneasiness and anxiety, and you'll be able to deal with them.

Clearing that hurdle is quite difficult.
I'm in the middle of feeling very uneasy myself...
Even though I said I would do it, I'm dragging my feet...

But because the grasshopper did it, he stepped outside his status quo, realized his own potential, and his world expanded.

"Fly, Grasshopper"
I don't want to stay as I am!
Doing things I've never done before.
It pushes me to take that first step.

That's the kind of picture book it was.


#WarpGirls
#Everyone'sFavoritePictureBookClub
#RandomWalk