《Resonance》【Poem】At the Mercy of the Tide

Every time the moon embraces the sea,
somewhere in my chest, quiet waves were rippling.

The shore's voice was soft, saying it was still too early.
Yet, once the tide has seen the light,
it can no longer return to the depths of the past.

The ebbing tide leaves behind traces,
the rising tide brings gratitude.
In that secret coming and going,
before I knew it, my own breath was swaying.

Even if your words are carved into the sand,
the next wave gently strokes them away,
drawing new patterns once again.

If being stopped is love,
then resisting is also a fragment of love.
There were nights when I could think that way.

The voice I couldn't hear back then,
still rings faintly at the bottom of my heart.
The warmth of concern is so tender it aches,
wrapping around my feet.

When the sea breeze brushes my cheek,
deep within it, there is the scent of a future yet unnamed.
In the sea before dawn, small bubbles burst and vanish.
Even so, the world continues to welcome the day.

I, too, am one of those droplets.
Not resisting the flow,
yet, not being swept away either.

Holding onto the voice of that day,
with the heartbeat of this chest, I carve out a single wave.

人は、愛するがゆえに止めようとする。
それでも、潮のように進もうとする者がいる。

Heart: Inner Awareness

I believe that concern is not meant to bind the other person, but is a defense to soothe the fear of loss.
Psychologist John Bowlby (1969) introduced the concept of a "secure base" in attachment theory.
When people hold the wish for someone else to "be there," they unconsciously fear the other person's change.
Therefore, words like "it's still too early" or "wait until you're ready"
are not meant to close off the other's future,but are an expression of the prayer that I do not want to lose you now.

However, the one being stopped also has a heart.
While accepting that love, they cannot resist their own impulses and continue to stand at the water's edge.
In this moment, gratitude and loneliness, hope and anxiety, all breathe together.
While writing this poem, I realized that "letting the voice of concern resonate as an inner tide"
is a way to build a bridge between others and myself.
It isnot repulsion, but resonance.
The voice that thinks of someone stops me, and at the same time, pushes me forward.
Concern and departure are, from the start, a single breath.

Knowledge: Absorption of Culture and Invention

There is a cultural background to the act of "stopping" someone.
In ancient Japan, there was a custom of telling those departing, "You must not go."
It was not a curse, but a charm wishing for their safe return.
The phrase "at the mercy of the tide" also expresses the wisdom of surrendering oneself to the flow of nature.

Also, scientifically, "stopping" is an instinct for stability.
Homeostasis in psychology explains the mechanism of the mind that resists change.
It is not fear, but a natural reaction of the body and mind seeking comfort.
However, at the same time, life, like the tides,persists only through change.
Just as the moon's gravity shakes the sea and creates the circulation of the tides,
human relationships are also kept alive by the tides of love and anxiety.

Both the one who stops and the one who moves forward are carrying the "breath of the world."
I believe it is only within that harmony that people hear the "music of living."

Technique: Daily Practice

1. Listen and Accept
   Do not reject the words that stop you; listen first.
   Say out loud once, "Thank you for worrying about me."
   Ex: Have a habit of responding with gratitude rather than denial.

2. Observe the Tide
   On days when you feel impatient, look at the sky and feel the ebb and flow of the tide.
   Mimic the rhythm of nature and adjust the timing of your actions.
   Ex: Measure the depth of your breathing for one minute in the morning and at night to be conscious of your daily waves.

3. Let it Resonate
   Let opposing opinions or advice resonate in the sea of your heart.
   Try remaining silent until you have digested them.
   Ex: Let the advice you heard sit for a day, and write your thoughts in a notebook the next morning.

Body: Physical Habits

Place your hand deep on your chest and breathe in like the tide.
Feel that someone's kindness is flowing between the breath you hold and the breath you exhale.

Study: Dialogue with the Classics

• "Essays in Idleness" by Yoshida Kenko (Japan, Literature)

• "Tao Te Ching" by Laozi (China, Philosophy)

• "On the Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin (UK, Science)

• "Under the Sea-Wind" by Rachel Carson (USA, Science)

Change: Reduction to the World

There are moments when love sounds like restraint.
“Not yet,” “Wait,” “Be careful”—these phrases are not walls, but tides of concern.
To be stopped is to be seen; to move forward is to answer that seeing with trust.
Between the shore and the horizon, there is a dialogue of gravity.
Every bond contains both the pull of safety and the drift of discovery.

The one who stays whispers from the land,
and the one who leaves listens through the sea wind.
Their hearts beat on different coasts but share the same rhythm—
the rhythm of care, fear, and longing that makes life possible.

In this way, love becomes movement, not permission.
Each wave returns not to where it began, but to where it belongs.
And so we, too, return—not to the same shore, but to the same light.

止める人も、進む人も、ひとつの潮の内にある。
その音が響く限り、私たちはまだ同じ海に立っている。
#八百万の声