【Project Participation】 Pay It Forward

This time, I received the Pay It Forward baton from Ejii-san.

Ejii-san, thank you so much for the wonderful introduction in your article 🐇

This project started with this article by LaLaLa-san.

LaLaLa-san, thank you for such a wonderful project 🐇

To briefly explain the project content,

・Write a comment on an article you think is good
・Introduce 3 other noters

is what it entails.

I read many noters' articles on a regular basis.

Articles that are interesting, articles that warm the heart, and articles that show me worlds I didn't know existed.
And articles that make me pause after reading and think for myself.
When I thought about who to introduce this time, narrowing it down to just three people was truly difficult.

Among them, this time,

“After reading their articles, my perspective and way of thinking changed a little”

I would like to introduce three people who have given me that experience many times.

Each of them writes on completely different themes and has a completely different writing style.

However, for me, there is a common thread in everyone's articles:
“I am allowed to pick up something I hadn't noticed myself.”

Now, please let me introduce them in order.

“Wind chimes cannot ring by themselves, you know.” -- 🍀 Kotonohabito ◇ Kasumi no Shikibu 🍀-san

The first person I would like to introduce as the lead-off batter is Kotonohabito-san.

Kotonohabito-san delivers various “words” every day, such as introducing poems from the Hyakunin Isshu or composing their own tanka.
I also love the Hyakunin Isshu, and I always read their posts with great interest.

Among the articles by Kotonohabito-san, there is one particular phrase in this article that has stayed with me.

"A wind chime cannot ring by itself."

That is the phrase.

When I first read it, I paused for a moment.

It is true that a wind chime does not ring just by being there.
The wind must blow and touch the wind chime.
Only then is a sound created.

Reading these words, I thought about the concept of a "boundary."
Perhaps we cannot truly understand ourselves if we only look inward.

Meeting someone who is not yourself.
Encountering different ideas.
Exchanging words.

It is only when the boundary between yourself and something else touches that you sometimes realize, "Oh, this is the sound I make."

Because there is light, the outlines of things emerge.
And at the same time, shadows are born.
I feel it is a bit like that as well.

Of course, this is just my own interpretation.

In Kotonohabito-san's articles, there are moments like this where a single phrase makes you want to think further about it in your own way.

The words delivered through Hyakunin Isshu and tanka are wonderful, but I also really love the realizations quietly placed within such casual remarks.

"A wind chime cannot ring by itself."

Even though it is a very gentle phrase, once I started thinking about it, it took me quite far away.

"I would love to share these words with others."

With that thought in mind, I have introduced Kotonohabito-san this time.
Please take a moment to peek into Kotonohabito-san's world of words.

Gentle scenery in everyday life — Hitomi Fujita

Next, in the middle, where everyone is most focused, I would like to introduce Hitomi Fujita.

Fujita-san writes with very careful words about various things in her daily life, such as yoga, meditation, painting, and norabo greens.

Whenever I read Fujita-san's articles, what I always feel is,

that she properly picks up on everyday moments that I would otherwise overlook,

is what I mean.

Even if they aren't special events, they might be a casual conversation, a simple scene, or the atmosphere and physical sensations of that moment.
a casual conversation,
a simple scene,
or the atmosphere and physical sensations of that moment.

She carefully puts each of those things into words one by one,

and I am always learning from her,

thinking, 'I never realized everyday life could be viewed this way.'

Among them, this article left a particularly strong impression on me.

It depicts time spent at the beach, and the gentle waves and casual interactions on the sand were very memorable.

Playing on the beach,
feeling the wind,
and exchanging casual words with your partner.

Nothing major happens.

But precisely because of that, the warmth of that time comes through.

In Fujita-san's articles, the interactions with her partner are also wonderful.
There is a gentle sense of distance that makes even the reader smile.

Even in a day that passes by casually,
there are actually so many scenes and emotions.

Every time I read Fujita-san's articles,
I feel as if I am being taught about an everyday moment I hadn't managed to pick up on myself.

When I'm busy, I tend to focus only on 'special things.'

But in reality,
the sound of the waves,
the touch of the wind,
or the casual exchanges with the person next to you,

perhaps it is in those things,
that precious time truly resides.

I hope everyone will experience this gentle world of everyday life depicted by Hitomi Fujita.

A world I don't know, even though it's nearby—Meraki Farm

The final person I would like to introduce is Nao-san, also known as Meraki Farm.

While running a farm in Gifu Prefecture, Meraki Farm shares thoughts on agriculture, family life, and experiences in nature.

Actually, I am also a resident of Gifu Prefecture, and from reading various articles, I feel like we are close enough to be neighbors.

Geographically, we are very close.
However, while reading the articles,

"Even though we live in the same region, there are such different ways of seeing the world."

I have felt this many times.

This is truly fascinating.

What left a particularly strong impression on me is this article, which begins with their son looking out the window.

Seeing their son doing nothing but looking outside,

"What are you doing?"

Just as they were about to ask,

"Do people always have to be doing something?"

They re-examine this question for themselves.

Such realizations are woven into the text.

When we have time where we are doing nothing, we tend to feel like it is a "waste."

When we go on trips, we pack our schedules full,
if we have a little free time, we look at our smartphones,
and before we know it, it has become difficult to "do nothing."

But, even one minute, or five minutes is fine.

Just watch the wind.
Listen to the sound of leaves rustling.
Gaze blankly at the scenery.

It is okay to have time like that.

Reading articles by Mera-ki Farm sometimes reminds me of those simple, obvious truths once again.

And what I love about Mera-ki Farm's articles is that they don't just portray nature as something beautiful.

When you are farming, there are times when things don't go as planned.
There is heat, and there is rain.
There are living creatures, and there is soil.

Living in nature, receiving blessings from nature, and sometimes being at the mercy of nature.

I feel that they convey the reality of 'eating within nature' without any embellishment.

In 'Castle in the Sky', Sheeta says,

'You cannot live apart from the earth.'

she says.

In our convenient lives, we tend to forget our connection to nature.

But in reality, eating and living are all connected to the soil, water, and the seasons.

I have learned that lesson many times from Mera-ki Farm's articles.

They live nearby, and the mountains and sky we see are surely not that different.

Yet, if our lifestyles and work are different, the world we see from there is also so different.

Even without traveling far away,
there is a world I don't know right nearby.

That is what Mera-ki Farm teaches me.

I hope everyone will have the chance to experience Nao-san's perspective, which is born from agriculture and daily life.

With that, having been passed the baton by Ejii-san, I have introduced these three people.

It has been almost a year since I started note.
In this nearly one year, I have truly read articles by many different people.

The places we live are different, and our jobs are different.
The things we like and the scenery we see every day are also different.

And interestingly, even when looking at the same thing, what people pick up is completely different.

Some people think about human connections from the sound of a wind chime.

Some people pick up gentle moments from an ordinary day at the beach.

Some people think about "time spent doing nothing" from the sight of a child looking out the window.

If I were living alone, these are all things I surely would not have noticed.

Perhaps the interesting thing about note is that it allows us to peek into someone else's life just a little bit.

And, by borrowing their eyes for a moment, we can re-examine the world we see every day.
When we do, things that were previously invisible sometimes suddenly come into view.

From the three people I introduced this time, I have been taught such new "perspectives" many times over.

I hope to continue reading many people's articles and picking up, one by one, the scenery and words that I could not have picked up on my own.

And then, passing on what I received there to someone else.
Having words and realizations connect in that way might also be a wonderful part of note.

I hope that the Pay It Forward baton I received this time will also connect to new relationships from here on out 🐇

2026/8/9
Rabi☆Yukito

✨ Participating in the Pay It Forward Project ✨