On my 61st birthday, I gathered the courage to try 'relying on others'
Since losing my mother on January 3rd, my mind, body, and heart have completely stopped moving. I kept sinking deeper and deeper, like a deep-sea fish resting on the ocean floor.
However,
I really wanted to deliver “A Way of Thinking to Flip Despair into Hope”, which I worked so hard to publish, to those who need it.
That was the only feeling I couldn't give up on.
But I've always been bad at asking for help.
Despite my character as a brazen Kansai auntie, I'm surprisingly timid.
In the end, I tend to bottle everything up.
And I'm the type who ends up feeling overwhelmed.
But July 29th is my birthday.
I feel like I might be forgiven for making a request I usually wouldn't.
I decided to try posting on social media to ask for support for my book.
I even consulted AI beforehand.
The AI gave me kind and detailed advice, saying,
“For Facebook, do this,”
“For Instagram, do this,”
“For Ameba Blog, do this,”
“For note, do this,”
“And for X, it's best to do this.”
But you know, in the end, I could only post on Facebook. I couldn't post on my official LINE or in my newsletter either. Even though it was a once-a-year chance...
It took me over six hours to write just one Facebook post.
I wrote and deleted, thinking,
“No, this is too pushy.”
“But if I write it like this, people won't know what I'm asking for.”
Back and forth, over and over.
I was in a state of “How much can one person agonize over a single post?” and only got three hours of sleep.
Still, in the end,with a leap of faith,I posted it.
Then, more people than I expected introduced my book, shared it, and offered warm words.
I was truly grateful.
And that support led to an unexpected result...
“With so many people supporting me, how can I, the person who matters most, just sit here and do nothing!”
My incredibly heavy self, both in name and reality, finally
got moving.
Just then, a project to boost everyone's note posts was launched on the super popular Clubhouse program 'Mimi-Biji', and I decided to jump on board...
I finally, finally got my ability to output back.
This morning, 26 minutes before the program started, I learned that I could enter
the upcoming 2027 year March month 13th, the prelude to the real event where I will present on 'The One Book That Changed My Life' at the Mimi-Biji Awards,
8month 12th (Wed) Mimi-Biji Awards Pre-event on Clubhouse.
I had no manuscript and hadn't practiced, but
with a leap of faith, I raised my hand, wrote the manuscript right up until the presentation, and managed to slide in at the very last minute.
I think my heart rate was probably 1.5 times higher than normal. My heart was pounding, and I think the temperature in my head rose by about 3 degrees after it was over.
But there, too, I was helped by everyone's warm support and the kind words of Toyoko Shimokama and Hiroomi Sueyoshi.
That's how I gathered my courage again today, and I realized that the ripple effect of Mimi-Biji is truly amazing.
After that, when I searched for 'intractable disease' on note, the note article that became the basis for my speech
https://note.com/tsutsujinote/n/n7b4175c20566
was in the 'Trending' ranking and even appeared in the 'Popular' ranking.
By gathering the courage to take one step forward,
my words might have reached people who are currently suffering from intractable diseases or other hardships.
When I thought about that, my heart was filled with emotion.
To everyone who increased the chances of my words reaching the people I wanted to reach, thank you so much.
Courage is not
something that only people who have overcome fear can possess,
but perhaps it is
“Am I being pushy?”
“Will I be embarrassed if I fail?”
“Am I being a nuisance?”
Even while holding onto those feelings,
“Oh, what should I do? 😱”
“Can I do this? Will it be okay?”
and even while your heart is pounding,
taking a leap of faith! and just doing it.
If you do that, things you couldn't move on your own
can sometimes be moved by someone else's support.
This time, I was taught that.
So, may I gather my courage one more time and ask you for a favor?
On September 26th, I will be speaking at a seminar in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, themed around laughter and healing.
All proceeds will be donated to Kumamoto reconstruction support.
The reason I am making such a bold request is that after attending Martha's seminar and experiencing it for myself, I am certain that everyone who comes will leave with a smile, feeling energized and happy.
I would be very happy if you could share this if you'd like.
And so, this time as well, I was trembling and nervous, wondering if people would think I was getting too carried away or if they would dislike me for being pushy, repeating the process of writing and deleting over and over again.
Here goes! I said, and with a racing heart,
I gathered all my courage to post this.
Thank you for reading until the end.