#TanabataTimeCapsule

I cannot say an irresponsible "it's okay."
So, back then, how was I seen by others, I who would never tell anyone "it's okay"?

I pass people by, part ways with them, and there are many I can never meet again.
I think that the shallow words I kept saying have not remained in anyone's heart at all.
I might have hurt people without even knowing it.
There are also a few memories I don't want to put into a time capsule.

I thought there was no way I could say words like "it's okay" when I couldn't put myself in the other person's shoes.
I thought such words had absolutely no meaning.
At the same time, I knew it was an excuse to run away from facing the other person head-on.

There inevitably comes a time in life when excuses no longer work.

When you run away from facing things head-on, people drift away.
Just as I was beginning to understand that, I had an encounter with a certain boss.

My boss, who was 30 years my senior, was someone who would always say, "It's okay, so don't worry."
Where did this person's "it's okay" come from?
There shouldn't have been any basis for it, yet for some reason, I started to feel like it really would be okay.

After hearing "It's okay, so don't worry" many times, I eventually understood. The true meaning of "it's okay."

To tell someone it's okay means,
"If it's not okay, let's think about it together again until it becomes okay."
It means having that resolve.
It means conveying to the other person the resolve to never leave their side and to keep thinking together with them.
When you convey that resolve and those feelings to the other person,
people start to become okay.

Since then, I have started saying "It's okay" to friends who are suffering and juniors who are troubled.
It means I have the resolve for what I've said, but,
strangely enough, once I started saying that, my conversations with others became very genuine, heartfelt conversations.

Is this what it means to get older?
I thought a little.

However, humans are creatures that become strong and weak.
I can't always tell people it's okay.
There are times when I am not okay myself.
Quite often, in fact.

Even so, I will go on living.
While laughing and crying.

So, God.
God of Tanabata.

Please give me the strength to be able to tell someone "It's okay" next year as well.

***
arji

#TanabataTimeCapsule  This is a project by Kotoba-san.