You don't have to get rid of the fog. | Chiba Shrine #33

"I have to find an answer quickly."

Don't you ever feel that way?

About work.
About the future.
About what I really want to do.

Whenever I was lost about something, I always,

"I want to end this hesitation quickly."

I used to think that.

At one point, I received some words that spoke to me.

"The fog is a treasure."

To me at the time, it was a bit of a surprising statement.

I mean, you'd want to avoid feeling foggy if you could, right? (laughs)

But looking back now, those words were the beginning of my journey to "know myself" that followed.

"Myoken" that appeared in my dreams many times

Around that time, there was a word that kept appearing in my dreams.

"Myoken"

As I felt curious and started looking into it, so many things came up that connected to my past, it was almost scary💦

"No, no, I'm probably overthinking it."

"Maybe it's just a coincidence."

Even while thinking that, there were too many overlaps for it to be just that.

That's exactly why,

"If I go there, maybe I'll understand something!"

I was feeling that way.

I headed to Chiba Shrine, which enshrines Hokushin Myoken.

Around this time, I was in the middle of an "awakening journey" that had continued from Makata Shrine.

Dreams and reality.
The past and the future.

Everything was mixed together, a feeling I couldn't even explain well myself.

But every time I visited a shrine, something seemed to fall into place little by little.

I had that feeling, too.

👇 Shortly before heading to Chiba Shrine, I visited Shirayama Hime Shrine, feeling that "there might be some meaning here too."

I, who asked, "Which path should I take?"

At the time, I was also lost regarding the direction of my work.

What do I want to do from here on?
Where should I head?

I didn't even really know myself.

So, in front of the main hall,

"Please tell me clearly which path I should take."

I prayed.

Then, the next morning.

What was in the email I received was,

"Knowing yourself."

And,

"Uncertainty is a treasure"

was what they said.

At that moment,

"Ah, so that's what it means."

I thought.

For a long time, I didn't think that being lost or worried was a good thing.

I wanted to find an answer quickly.
I wanted to escape from the suffering.

That's how I felt.

But it is precisely because I am feeling uncertain that

"What do I really want to do?"

I can ask myself that question.

The time spent without an answer also has real meaning.

I realized that.

From then on, I started writing down my feelings

Since then, I have started writing my feelings in a notebook.

I just try to put whatever is in my head into words.

Then,

"Oh, this is what I was actually thinking."

I would sometimes surprise even myself.

Rather than having someone else give me the answers,

I find what is inside myself, by myself.

For me, I think that was the beginning of that kind of 'self-discovery'.

Looking back now, I felt like I was on a landing on the staircase of life back then.

It feels like you can't go up or down, but because there is a landing, you can turn to face the next set of stairs.

Even the time that seems to be standing still is, when you look back on it later, properly connected to what comes next, isn't it😌

The mysterious atmosphere I felt at Chiba Shrine

Another thing that left an impression on me when I visited Chiba Shrine was the atmosphere of the shrine grounds.

The main hall has a two-story structure, which is rare even in Japan.

In the center is the Fukutoku-den, and there are eight star shrines arranged in an octagon.

There is also a sacred spring called the 'Myoken Enju no I' on the grounds, and 14 auxiliary shrines are enshrined around the pond.

Even though it's a shrine, it feels like it's something more than just a shrine.

It was a place where I felt a mysterious atmosphere, as if many different things were mixed together.

Looking back now, I feel like I can understand why I was drawn to this place back then.

Because I was in a period where I was carrying many different feelings, and they hadn't taken shape yet.

The current me doesn't try to erase uncertainty right away

Time has passed since then, and I have changed a little too.

Of course, I still get lost even now (laughs).

Sometimes I wonder, "Is this really okay?"

But I don't feel

"I have to find an answer quickly"

as much as I used to.

When I start feeling foggy,

"What is it that's bothering me?"

I ask myself.

And if I need to, I write it down.

Even if I don't get an answer right away,

"Well, I guess I don't know for now"

I've become able to just leave it at that.😊

This is something I really couldn't do in the past.

"The fog is a treasure"

Back when I first heard those words, I might not have fully understood what they meant.

But now, after time has passed and I've spent more time facing my own feelings, I understand a little better.

Hesitation isn't something that gets in the way.

Sometimes, what you truly value is hidden within it.✨

That's why, today, I am still a "walking power spot in training."

Rather than going to a shrine to find an answer,

I find it while walking, while stopping,

"How am I feeling?"

I ask myself, listening to my own voice.

As I rewrite this,

I think to myself, I've really grown (laughs).

👇For those reading for the first time.
Start here.

⛩ Click here for a list of shrine articles.

#ShrineVisiting #ChibaShrine #MyokenFaith #SelfDiscovery #SelfUnderstanding #Spiritual #Universe