The biggest discovery I made in the first half of the year.

It is July 1st today.

Half of the year is already over. It went by so fast.

Every year, I feel like time passes faster.

Thinking about that, I looked back on the first half of the year.

The biggest discovery I made in these past six months.

It was,

“Rather than adding, focus on organizing.”

That is what it was.

The trigger was seeing “10 things to discard a day” on social media.

Just letting go of 10 items in the house.

I started it while thinking, “Will something like that really change anything?”

A little while ago, I was always being chased by something.

“I have to do something.”

“I have to make things better.”

I would start one thing after another, only to get distracted by something else halfway through.

Taking action is justice.

Stopping is evil.

Thinking that way, I just kept moving no matter what.

Especially this fiscal year, I started many new initiatives in the classroom as well.

"I want to make it better."

"I want to meet expectations."

Those feelings were genuine.

But before I knew it, my mind was always switched ON.

To use an analogy...

A state where over 108 browser tabs are open.

Actually, this is not a metaphor (lol).

A while ago, when I casually looked at my mobile browser, it really displayed "108".

"Wait... that's the number of worldly desires."

I couldn't help but laugh to myself.

What I had open were,

"I have to do that too."

"Come to think of it, I haven't replied yet."

"I want to change the homepage, too."

"I have to think about the workshop, too."

"What should I do for dinner?"

Pages I opened while looking things up.

Articles I thought I'd read later.

Sites I saved thinking, "This will be useful!"

There are even tabs I don't even know what they are (lol).

If this were a computer, it would have frozen a long time ago.

But I,

"I'm still okay."

"I can keep going if I try harder."

That's what I thought.

Looking back now, I think I had 108 tabs open not just in my browser, but in my head as well.

What changed me was "getting rid of 10 things a day."

The first thing I let go of was towels.

Towels are hard to throw away.

"They can still be used."

"They can be used as rags."

While thinking that, I had kept stiff towels I'd used for over 10 years, and even towels with holes in them.

And there were clearly too many for the number of people in my family.

Every time I opened the shelf, I saw towels packed in tightly.

When I finally decided to reduce them, it was surprisingly comfortable.

My field of vision felt lighter.

It's also easier to know when to do laundry.

And above all, the pleasure of having only my favorites lined up.

"It's safer to have a lot."

Even though I thought that was the case, the reality was the opposite.

Having the amount that suits me makes life much easier.

From there, I gradually started organizing my socks, underwear, handkerchiefs, and small items.

Before I knew it, even the "missing sock problem" that had plagued me for years almost stopped happening.

I just couldn't find things because I had too many.

When you narrow down the number, you can see things clearly.

The problems themselves started to decrease.

Around that time, I realized something.

It's not just with physical objects,

there is also a lot of "noise" in my head.

Things I'm worried about.

Things I'm putting off.

Things I want to do.

Things that aren't finished.

They were all keeping tabs open in my head the whole time.

So, I decided to close them one by one.

Then, something strange happened.

My decision-making became faster.

The number of things I say "I'll do later" has decreased.

The number of things I say "I'll do it now" to is increasing.

Both my mind and body have become lighter.

And there was something that surprised me even more.

When the noise decreases,

I can even see my own core.

What do I want to cherish?

What is it that I truly want to deliver in the classroom?

The more I thought about it, the simpler the answer became.

Whether they go to school or not.

Whether they are good at studying or not.

More than things like that,

I want to cherish the fleeting time of childhood.

Playing with all one's heart.

Meeting someone.

Taking on challenges.

Experiencing failure.

Through each of those experiences, I want them to know themselves and become people who can choose their own future.

I realized once again that that is what I want to deliver in the classroom.

So, in the second half of the year, I will value organizing things even more than adding new ones.

Organizing my life.

Organizing my thoughts.

Organizing the classroom.
(Recently, the children have been telling me that the Koshigaya school doesn't feel like the Koshigaya school anymore. lol)

Surely, it is precisely because there is space that what is truly important becomes visible.

That is what the first half of the year taught me.

Now, for the second half of the year.

Instead of having 108 browser tabs open, I'll try to keep it to at least 10 (lol).

I want to move forward lightly.

How many tabs are open in your mind right now?

If you were to close just one today, which tab would you close?