Facing Your Origins During Obon

The Obon season.

Isn't this a time of year when we naturally find ourselves reflecting on our ancestors and our families?

With the rise of nuclear families, I imagine there are many who find that opportunities for the entire extended family to gather have decreased, or perhaps have disappeared altogether.

That is precisely why, right now,

“Where did I come from?”

I feel it has become very important to face your own origins.

How were you born, and from what kind of family and ancestors did you inherit your life?

If you stop facing those origins,

might you not even lose sight of where you should be heading in life?

Of course, values change with the times.

Even within a family, values can differ so greatly that it may become impossible to hold a conversation.

As I have mentioned before, as polarization progresses, there are parts of this that are simply unavoidable.

Even so,

the fact that you are blood-related does not change.

Recently, even during the sessions I conduct,

facing one's family,

and facing one's ancestors,

these themes are coming up more and more often.

The relationship with your own origins influences how you live and your human relationships today.

I have seen such situations many times.

Your relationship with those closest to you reflects in the outside world as well

I once received a consultation from a business owner who was a client.

It was a consultation regarding,

"not getting along with my employees."

Generally speaking,

increasing the frequency of communication with employees,

changing how you convey things,

reviewing the workplace environment,

or improving company systems,

I think people often try to solve problems from these visible areas.

However, rather than there, I looked at,

how that person interacts with their family

instead.

When you wake up in the morning, are you able to say "good morning" to your wife?

When a meal is made for you, do you express your gratitude by saying "thank you" or "this is delicious"?

When something happens, are you properly reporting, communicating, and consulting with each other?

I checked each one of these things.

The answer to almost all of them was "NO."

So I told him,

that the problem might not just be in the company, but also in his relationship with his closest family members.

You cannot express gratitude to the people closest to you.

You have not built a relationship with the people closest to you.

In that state, isn't it difficult to try to build good relationships with employees only when you go to the office?

That business owner started by re-evaluating their relationship with their family from that point on.

Saying hello.

Expressing gratitude.

Having conversations.

They started by prioritizing their relationship with their family first.

Then, strangely enough, their relationship with their employees also began to change little by little.

And, in that year's financial results,

they were able to achieve record-high sales and record-high profits.

Of course, it is not as simple as saying that if you fix your relationship with your family, your business performance will definitely improve.

However, from this experience, I felt once again that

how you interact with the people closest to you also manifests in your world outside

is true.

When things aren't going well, go back to your roots.

If right now,

work is not going well,

relationships are not going well,

or for some reason, things are not moving forward.

If such things are happening,

perhaps it might be good to turn your eyes toward your own origins before trying to solve external problems.

Have you been able to say "thank you" to your family?

Have you been able to cherish those closest to you?

How many people have passed down the life that has brought you to where you are today?

Obon is,

I believe, a very important time to think about such things.

Visiting a grave is a time to face yourself

I believe that visiting a grave is,

not just about putting your hands together for your ancestors.

It is a time to return to your origins and ask,

is there something missing in who I am now?

Is there something I have forgotten?

Have I left behind the things that have been passed down to me?

Isn't it also a time to face yourself in that way?

Of course, I understand that there are those who cannot visit a grave due to circumstances.

In that case, it is fine to just put your hands together from your home.

It is fine to just think about your ancestors for a brief moment.

You have not lived this life entirely on your own.

There are my father and mother,

there are my grandparents,

there are the ancestors before them,

and because life has been passed down, I am here today.

Doesn't just remembering that create some kind of change within you?

This time of year, Obon.

Why not turn your consciousness, which is always directed outward, back toward your origins for a little while?

Where did I come from?

What have I inherited?

And,

how will I live this life from here on out?

Facing your ancestors is,

I believe, not about looking at the past,

but about looking at how you will live your life from now on.

I send out regular updates.
Please feel free to register on LINE.
Click here
I hold events every month with the theme of "living true to yourself."
Click here
I tweet daily on X (formerly Twitter).
Please follow and hit the like button.
Click here