Thinking about the end of life makes me unable to stop the sadness❗ That is exactly why I have been thinking about a 'happy way of living'💗

The spouse of a friend from my university days (who was also a senior of mine at university) has passed away.
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer was discovered in the spring of the year before last, and it seems they kept a blog until the very end and even left behind a message for when their life came to an end.

News of this spread, and I even received messages from friends I hadn't been in close contact with since I retired.
I decided to meet up with one of those friends for the first time in a while, and we agreed to go pay our respects together.

That friend also mentioned that their own spouse (the two of them were classmates at university) had developed a neurological disease.

Just as I was feeling heartbroken over that, I received news that the spouse of another friend had stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
When it was discovered, it had already metastasized to their lungs.

I had an acquaintance before who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away two months later, so it seems to be a 'cancer that is difficult to detect early'.

Also, there are people I knew from my nursery school days who are undergoing cancer treatment, and a dear friend of mine also has stage 4 breast cancer.

There are just too many stories of cancer around me, and too many cases where I realize it's already stage 4, and on top of that, a friend has developed a neurological disease... I truly cannot stop the sadness.

Everyone is in their 60s. They should still be at a time to enjoy life...😭
Thinking about how the family feels is truly painful...😭

It is now said that 'one in two' people get cancer.
There is no telling when someone close to you might be struck by various serious illnesses.
Not just someone close to me, but even I don't know when or what might happen to me; that is something only God knows.

As the years go by and I become a senior, I find myself thinking about the end of my own life, not just my family's.

Perhaps that is why I no longer have big dreams or goals for my life like I did when I was young.
Instead, I have a stronger desire to live happily in the present, protect the health of myself and my family, and spend my time cherishing the connections I have with my immediate family, friends, and people in my community.

Let's cherish the time we spend with our families❗
Let's do everything we want to do❗
Let's make time to go to the places we want to visit and meet the people we want to see❗
Let's treat ourselves and those around us as kindly as possible❗
And,
Let's live every day with a smile and enjoy it❗

That is what I think.

If you are alive, various things will happen.
Things won't always go as planned, you will worry, feel anger, and experience sadness.

That is also life.
Accept each of those things, listen to your own feelings, tackle what you can one by one, and overcome them. Decide to live happily and live that way.

Life is full of variety, and no matter how old you are, you can live and grow in ways appropriate for that age.
My happy way of living now that I am older is not about me moving forward alone, but an image of expanding in all directions and becoming richer.
And, you cannot fully taste happiness just by being satisfied yourself.
Let's all be happy together❗

At such times, I suddenly remembered the words of Kenji Miyazawa, so I asked the note AI about it.

For your reference⭐

'What is happiness according to Kenji Miyazawa'

For Kenji Miyazawa, 'happiness' was not merely individual satisfaction or pleasure. His theory of happiness is extremely rigorous while at the same time filled with deep compassion.

I will explain four important points to understand Kenji's way of thinking about happiness.

1. "There can be no individual happiness until the entire world is happy"

This is the most famous phrase at the beginning of his work, 'An Outline of Peasant Art.'
Kenji believed that even if he alone were wealthy or healthy, it would not be true happiness if his neighbor were suffering.

• The spirit of interdependence: Humans do not live in isolation but are connected to the entire world. Therefore, the suffering of others is one's own suffering, and it is the idea that individual happiness is only complete once the happiness of the whole is achieved.

2. The search for 'true happiness'

In his masterpiece 'Night on the Galactic Railroad,' the protagonist Giovanni keeps asking what 'true happiness' is.

• Self-sacrifice and devotion: Through the episode of the scorpion who gave its life for others in the story, and the actions of his friend Campanella, Kenji suggests that true happiness might lie in 'devoting oneself to others.'

• Light within hardship: For Kenji, happiness was not about living an easy life, but in the conviction that one is 'being useful to someone,' even if it is painful.

3. The ideal image seen in 'Be Not Defeated by the Rain'

The famous poem 'Be Not Defeated by the Rain' depicts the way of life Kenji idealized.

• A selfless heart: Just as the words 'without counting myself' suggest, he sought neither his own profit nor honor; if there was a sick child to the east, he would go to nurse them, and if there was a tired mother to the west, he would carry bundles of rice for her.

• A 'dekunobo' (wooden dummy): Neither praised by those around him nor considered a burden, yet still calmly acting for the sake of others. Kenji sought to find ultimate peace and happiness in such a state of 'selflessness.'

4. Religious and scientific perspectives (The Lotus Sutra and the universe)

In the background of Kenji's theory of happiness were his fervent faith in the Lotus Sutra and his cold, objective perspective as a scientist.

• Bodhisattva practice: At the root is the Buddhist teaching of 'self-benefit and altruism,' meaning that by saving others, one is also saved oneself.

• Cosmic expansion: He considered the harmony of the 'entire universe,' including not just humans, but animals, plants, stones, and even the stars, to be happiness.

Kenji's theory of happiness in the modern age

Kenji's way of thinking might feel a bit 'too strict' for us today. Living for the sake of others even to the point of sacrificing oneself is not easy.

However, what he wanted to convey was 'happiness within connection.'
Rather than an isolated happiness of 'as long as I am fine,' the 'sense of fulfillment' gained by making someone smile or contributing to society might be a hint toward 'true happiness' that remains unchanged across the ages.

Kenji passed away at the young age of 37, but he was a person who spent his short life experimenting with 'how everyone can become happy.'

May those who are currently in sorrow after losing a loved one, those fighting illness, and those struggling in the midst of hardship, all find healing for their hearts and bodies🧡

I cannot do anything, but I can pray.

Yesterday was my medical checkup.
All the results will be mailed to me at a later date, but I would like to write an article as a "Random Diary" about a few things I know now, as well as my experience at counseling, which I went to for the first time in a while💗

Thank you for joining me again today.
m(_ _)m

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