What is happiness, what is life

About two years ago.
After hearing this passage,
I became a fan of Mrs. GREEN APPLE.

Even before that, I had been listening to their songs.

I learned of their existence through "Que Sera Sera,"
and I would occasionally pick out famous songs like "ANTENNA," "Magic," and "Ao to Natsu."

At one point,
I don't remember the reason,
but I decided to listen to all of their songs,
and I started playing a playlist that contained every track.

Since I was working while listening,
it was more like background noise.

As unknown melodies and lyrics flowed by,
my thoughts suddenly came to a halt.

That was
when I heard "Dokokade Hi wa Noboru."

At the time, I was feeling quite down.

Although I had started out as a freelancer,
things were not going well at all.

My personal life wasn't going well either.

"What is normal?"
"What is the meaning of life?"
"Who am I?"

I kept thinking about things like that,
but days went by without anything coming of it.

I was losing my confidence, my sense of self-worth,
and my hope for society.

A little while before that,
when I had blurted out
"I wonder what happiness really is"
to some friends,
they were a bit put off.

"Am I the only one thinking about things like this?"
I felt a slight sense of alienation.

That was when this song descended upon me.

"...!"
My entire mind was in total agreement.

There was someone else in the world thinking the same thing.
I wasn't alone...

You know those songs that go,
life is wonderful,
happiness is right there,
and so on. That's totally fine, though.

The way this song feels,
like it's lost without an answer even after asking,
it felt like I was given permission
to just stay in that state of limbo.

Plus, this song doesn't just ask questions;
it also gives you kindness,
and the way it stays by your side is the best part.

That was a salvation for me at the time, and I couldn't get enough of it.

Two years have passed since then.
I still find myself wondering, "What is happiness?" and
there are days when I think, "What is life?"

But now,
I don't actually dislike the time I spend facing those questions.

Maybe it's because I joined a community where we keep asking these questions,
but I've even come to enjoy exploring them.

However, it's not like there aren't times when these questions make me feel distressed.

But even then, when I listen to "Somewhere the Sun Rises,"
I feel like, somehow, it'll be okay.

Because I can truly believe and hold onto the fact that
there are other people thinking about these things too.