Today is the anniversary of my best friend who passed away. Time flies so fast; it has been 16 years. Burning incense for him makes my heart ache. He was a person with a wonderful soul. But fate is so cruel, it took my friend's life too soon.
Suddenly, I start thinking about the people who came into my life, and some of them have gone forever due to illness or accident. I wonder if they are happier in the other world than us. Maybe we are more miserable than them, because we worry daily about food and money. We have to strive to achieve a position in society, or at least do something useful for society, so that people will not look down on us.
What do we work so hard for? We only eat two meals a day. Then there are those of us who fight, compete, and scheme just for fame and profit, to have a lot of money to buy a big house and luxury things. But, in fact, each of us only needs 20m² of land to live on.
I wonder, when we have everything in our hands, will we be happy? Because this universe is very fair, we will lose something if we gain something.
Do you know that whether you are greedy for money, property, or fame and profit, in the end we will have to end our lives and go to the other world?
What can we bring with us when we die? Nothing but a tombstone with the name “deceased.”
In short, I have no ambition; everything is meaningless. I just pray that my mind is not restless, not worried, or troubled; that is enough. Saying that does not mean I give up everything. I still need to work to support myself, my family, and my dog, and continue to live strongly for the rest of my life. I am not pessimistic. I am still smiling and continuing my life journey.
Thank you for reading my thoughts today. Goodbye for now.
This is just my personal opinion, so I hope you don’t judge me for it.
16 years later...
***Thank you for reading.
Yoshiko Amemiya
September 17, 2025