Episode 5 | Another Life

Right now, I am picking up natural stones and making accessories.

Drawn to the ocean and the moon, and captivated by Larimar,
I even started a brand called Aqua Luna.

But, until a little while ago, I—
was in a completely different place than I am now.

A world unrelated to making accessories.

That is the job I held for a long time:
a "taxi driver."

I spent eight years behind the wheel of a taxi.

Working alternate-day shifts.

A job where, once you start your shift, you might keep driving for nearly 20 hours.

Driving through the city, day or night, it didn't matter.

Picking up many people,
and touching upon many scenes of life.

People talking about work.
People talking about their families.
People talking about love.

Some people talked about happy things, while others,
for some reason, would share things in the taxi
that they hadn't been able to tell anyone else.

While meeting so many people like that,
I continued this job for eight years.

And when those eight years had passed,

I gradually began to think,

"What should I do with my life from here on?"

The taxi job I had done for so long.

Should I continue as a corporate driver?

Or should I start considering the option of becoming an independent taxi driver?

If I were to start as an independent driver,

I would be centering my life around this job for the future as well.
Thinking about things like that,

I worried about it almost every day.
Looking back now, I think that version of me

was standing at a crossroads in life.
Depending on which path I chose,

the scenery ahead would surely change.
But at that time, I still

didn't know what was waiting for me ahead.
I just spent my days thinking,

"Is it okay to stay like this?"

"How do I want to live my life from now on?"

And now, I have realized one more thing.

For eight years, I spent almost every day inside a car.

Nearly 20 hours, just on the road.

A life of constant movement.

Of course, at the time, I thought that was normal.

But looking back later,

perhaps what I was particularly lacking was "keeping my feet on the ground."

If it were me now, I might describe it
with the word "grounding."

Time to plant my feet on the ground,
and return to myself.
Time to feel my inner self.

I think I had very little of that back then.
Perhaps that is why.

Now, when I touch natural stones,

make accessories one by one,

or gaze at the ocean and the moon,

my heart feels calm in a way that is mysterious.
Back then,
I never imagined I would be making accessories with natural stones
and launching my own brand.

Let alone that a day would come when I would share
my experiences and feelings with someone like this.
Life is truly mysterious.

Experiences that I didn't understand the meaning of at the time
end up connecting in a different form years later.

I think about it now.

Perhaps those eight years were also
part of the path leading to Aqua Luna.

But—

I didn't know it yet at that time.
That the "crossroads in life" I was worrying about

would arrive in a way I had never imagined.

And that that event

would end up changing my life significantly.
In the next chapter,

I would like to talk about
that event I experienced.

Thank you so much for reading until the end.
Please come back to read the next one too🌙
Aqua Luna