Polishing away dirt, polishing the heart. True wealth beyond money
Yesterday, I went to clean the home of an elderly person.
That person is currently hospitalized, and their discharge date is approaching. However, the room was incredibly dirty; the toilet, kitchen, entryway, and bathroom... everything was buried in trash and grime. In this state, they cannot live a satisfying life even after being discharged.
Disposing of the trash and polishing away years of accumulated grime. To make it in time for their discharge, we focused our efforts on making the place function as a proper "home" once again.
Using company profits for those in need who cannot pay
The "Meguri" circulation
We set aside a portion of the sales from our businesses—which include nursing home placement support, informal self-pay services, and food and beverage services—as our own unique "fund." We then use this to provide free support to those in economically difficult situations.
This system is called "Meguri."
Our business is not social security; it is a private enterprise. Naturally, our services incur a cost. However, in reality, there are many elderly people who cannot pay but still have problems that need to be solved. Ideally, this might be an area where the national or local government should step in. But it is difficult for the administration to cover every issue, and as with this "trash house" case, the reality is that the people around the elderly have no choice but to take action and solve it themselves.
I want to not only solve the problems of each individual senior but also allow the medical and nursing care specialists around them to focus on their primary work. I want to take on that burden so that they do not become physically and mentally exhausted by excessive "shadow work."
Fortunately, in the five years since we started this business, our profitability has grown. Therefore, using the "Meguri" system we launched this January, we are utilizing this fund to convert it into richness in living and relationships, giving back to those in economic hardship and the medical and nursing care workers who are forced into shadow work because of it.
Circulating eight types of capital. Beyond the pursuit of profit.
We are not just doing business for the sake of profit. We are effectively utilizing each of the eight capitals of "Wonder Aging" so that they are fulfilled as needed.
In other words, we use economic wealth (financial capital) and convert it into the wealth of health (health capital) or the wealth of the aspirations of medical and nursing care workers (practice capital) to provide it.
Turning a portion of our sales into a fund to provide free services gives us so many realizations. Before starting, I was worried, wondering if I would just think, "It's free, so it's fine to be casual," or "How seriously can I really do this?"
However, having actually used this system and moved my own body, what I think is this: there is an "infinite compassion" that exists only in acts where no monetary compensation is involved.
There is no economic benefit; I am simply moving my body purely out of a wish for the other person's happiness. I think about how wealthy I am to be able to have that time.
Realizing that life is not just time for economic gain.
A life where you have to work for hours and tens of hours just to earn money. Instead of that, being able to proactively choose an action that involves absolutely no economic gain—that very fact makes me realize, "My life is so rich right now."
With about two hours of work, the room was cleaned for the time being. By throwing away the trash and polishing the grime, light returned to the room. In the same way, my heart felt clear and refreshed, without any clouds.
Polishing the dirt in front of me was the very act of polishing my own heart.
A small question for you this morning
Have you recently had a moment where you acted solely out of a wish for someone's happiness, without thinking at all about economic benefits or gains and losses?
Why not weave a small act of such "infinite compassion" into your life today?