Expressing Through My Own Worldview

The other day, I came across a post by ski instructor Mr. Takehiro Saito, and for a moment, it deeply resonated with me.

Here’s a quote (translation) from his post:

New Year’s Resolution for 2022

There may be times when you feel overwhelmed by everyone else's actions and think you need to follow suit. But if you ask yourself, "Is this really what I want to do?" you might discover something deeper.

Create at your own rhythm, in a way that reflects your unique perspective and the world you want to express. Then share it. By doing so, your message will reach the people who truly need it. On the other hand, rushing to align with others' actions can lead to connecting with people who don’t resonate with you, leaving you feeling drained.

Focus on what you can do, what you want to create, and nurture it at your own pace. Plant your seeds with care.

"Create at your own rhythm, in a way that reflects your unique perspective and the world you want to express."

Even if it’s only once every two or three days, once a week, or even once every few weeks, I sometimes catch myself realising, with a start, how much I’ve been influenced by what I see on social media.

For quite some time, I’ve felt the desire to move away from excessive “input” from social media and online news, and focus more on “output.” But I realise now how much time has passed with that thought lingering in the background.

When I was working in the field in the humanitarian assistance, I used to blog fairly regularly. Especially during the time I lived in a remote part of Africa—“remote” in the truest sense of the word, where there were no fellow countrymen or even other foreigners for hundreds of kilometres aside from a handful of colleagues—I often joked to the few friends who knew about my blog, “I write to maintain my mental balance.”

That wasn’t much of an exaggeration. Back then, smartphones didn’t exist, and the office where I spent my days barely had internet access. At home, electricity was rare, so I wrote on my laptop while it still had charge or typed up entries at the office after hours or on weekends before posting them.

Saying it was to "maintain my mental balance" wasn’t far from the truth. It wasn’t exactly loneliness, but standing before the vast expanse of land, I often felt acutely aware of being alone—alone, all alone (tears). The phrase “My Little Corner of the World” naturally came to mind as the title of my blog.

Writing—output, in other words—has its own cleansing power, much like the experience of meditation.

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on how I may have neglected to benefit from this cleansing process. I’ve been feeling an increasing desire to create more opportunities to write, to reclaim that practice. Perhaps that’s why Mr. Saito’s words resonated with me so deeply.

And so, I’ve decided to make an effort to update this blog a few times a month moving forward.

[While the article has been translated from the original Japanese into English with the help of AI, its message, energy, and nuances have been carefully preserved.]