Luna's Shop | The story of a small place I always wanted to open

Don't you also have nights when you wish you had a place to belong?

Nights when you want someone to listen to you.

Nights when you feel lonely for no reason.

Nights when you smile and say "I'm fine," even though you're actually a little tired—.

I have spent many such times myself.

Perhaps that is why.

For a long time, I have had a small dream tucked away in my heart.

It was to open a small shop that would be part cafe, part snack bar.

The shop I wanted to open was not one that provided answers.

I have always been, if anything, a listener.

I don't dislike listening to people.

Worries, complaints, and sometimes even true feelings that can't be told to anyone else—.

Before I knew it, I think many people often ended up talking to me.

And I liked those times.

Of course, I don't have any special answers.

I don't know the right answers to life either.

However, people can sometimes feel a little lighter in their hearts by talking to someone.

By letting out what they have been bottling up inside,

"I'm glad I could talk to you"

Just by being able to think that, sometimes they can face forward again.

I have seen such moments many times.

Perhaps that is why.

The shop I wanted to open was not a place to teach grand answers.

It was a place where people could vent their worries, laugh, and sometimes sing, leaving with a slightly lighter heart.

"I want to come back again."

It was a small place where I wanted people to feel that way.

A dream that didn't come true in reality. But a dream that never faded.

Actually, I had always wanted to own a cafe and snack bar-like shop someday.

Singing, talking, and laughing.

A place where people could relax and let their guard down.

A place where just being there could make you feel a little relieved.

However, reality is not that simple.

Amidst the flow of work, daily life, and life itself, that dream could not be realized.

But that doesn't mean I gave up on it, I think.

I just tucked it away quietly in the back of my heart.

Perhaps that expression is closer to the truth.

And recently, it suddenly occurred to me.

Perhaps—.

Maybe I could open it in this town of Note.

The moment I realized that, I felt a strange sensation.

It doesn't have to be a physical shop.

Writing words here, meeting people, and exchanging thoughts.

I wonder if that, too, is a kind of "shop."

That is how "Luna's Shop" was born.

The meaning behind "Luna"

"Luna" <Luna> is named after the Latin word for moon.

I have always been drawn more to the moon than the sun.

The sun, which brightly illuminates the daytime sky, is wonderful too.

But what I have always loved is the moon, which gently nestles close in the dark night.

It is a presence that doesn't shine intensely, but rather watches over us quietly.

The feeling that when you look up at the sky, you are connected somewhere.

I have always been drawn to that way of being of the moon.

That is why the name "Luna" came to me so naturally.

I want this shop to be a place like that moon, too.

You don't have to force yourself to be cheerful.

It's okay to cry.

It's okay to complain.

But by the time you leave, I hope you are smiling just a little.

That is the kind of place this is.

Life is a game of making each other happy

There is a phrase I love.

Life is a game of making others happy.

When I first heard it, I felt as if I had been saved.

Life is not just about competition or winning and losing.

Making someone happy, and being happy myself.

Isn't it okay to live like that?

That is what I thought.

Looking back, I have always lived with the desire to be useful to someone.

I think that remained the same, whether in my caregiving work or in my daily relationships.

Of course, I haven't found the answer to life yet.

I still get lost.

I think.

Sometimes I stop in my tracks.

But perhaps that is exactly why there are words I can write.

I want to be someone who thinks together with you, rather than someone who has all the answers.

Luna's Shop is that kind of place.

Welcome to Luna's Shop | What I want to write about in this shop from now on

In the first chapter, I wrote about the path I have walked.

And in the second chapter, I would like to write about the kind of place I want to create.

This place might be a coffee shop.

Maybe it's a snack bar.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a life counseling center... (laughs), but there might be nights like that too.

Sometimes, there will be nights where stories about cherished memories come up.

There might even be days when the words from that night are displayed on the shop's walls.

I don't even know myself what will begin here.

But I think that's okay.

Life, just like building a shop, surely doesn't start only after it's finished, but grows as you create it.

So today, I would like to end with these words.

Thank you so much for reading this far.

If you are feeling a little tired right now, or if you are looking for a place to belong—please come visit again anytime. Likes, comments, and follows are also very encouraging.

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