The 'Sheep' in My Head

"I went to see the sheep."

My husband, who had the day off yesterday, said this after watching a movie.

Thinking he meant the 'Sheep Detective Agency' I had been curious about, I asked,

"That's nice. I wanted to see that too. Was it cute?"

I asked.

Husband: "Huh? Cute? You mean Haruka Ayase?"

Somehow, we weren't on the same page.

What my husband had watched was director Kore-eda's 'Sheep in a Box'.


Even though my head was full of fluffy sheep, the sheep in my husband's head was something else entirely.

Even with the same word 'sheep,' what we imagine is so different.


Even when listening to the same story or looking at the same scenery, people focus on different things.

Even when we think we are talking about the same event,
we might actually be looking at different 'sheep'.

Even when we think we've listened properly to what someone said, we are often just picturing our own 'sheep' in our heads.

Even as a married couple, the sheep we imagine are different.
If that's the case, it's even more so with strangers.

It's no wonder that sometimes conversations don't click or we don't feel understood.

It's not that the other person is wrong, nor is it that I am wrong.
It's just that the sheep we were looking at were different.

Thinking about it that way makes me feel a little more at ease.

Today was my day off.

I thought I might as well go see my sheep, but unfortunately, the screening period had already ended at the nearby cinema.

It seems there is a right time to meet even sheep. 🐏