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「この世界は、我々の想像力を描くためのキャンバスにすぎない。」
“This world is but a canvas to our imaginations.”

Henry David Thoreau　1817-1862
American author, poet, and thinker

What will you paint on your canvas and leave this world? You are free to paint your life. Choose your favorite brush, use your favorite color, and paint your dreams and imagination. Paint your own picture, not someone else’s. Only you can paint your picture. Sometimes, the frame of the canvas may feel narrow. There is no need to be bound by the frame. You can jump out of the frame, or prepare a larger canvas and paint as you please. There is no right answer, so you just need to make the picture you paint the right one. Paint your own picture, dreams, and imagination as you please without being bound by anyone else.

My Choice

「下を向いていたら、虹を見つけることはできないよ。」
“You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down.”

Charlie Chaplin　1899-1975
English actor, filmmaker, and composer

You can’t change things outside your brain, like other people or the past. Look forward and up, not behind or down. If you always look down, you won’t notice a rainbow in the sky. Rainbows and stars are in the sky, but if you don’t make an effort to see them, you won’t see them. Once you can see a rainbow, you can count the colors of the rainbow. You just don’t notice it, but joy and opportunities are actually overflowing near you, around you, in your daily life. What’s important is whether you can notice, or make an effort to notice, that there are joys, happiness, and opportunities. You can see rainbows and stars if you try, and you can’t see them if you don’t try.

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「自分の内なるものも、外なるものも、見ているものを変える必要はない。ただ見方を変えればいいのだ。」
“You need not change anything in your life, but merely change how you look at it.“

Thaddeus Golas　1924-1997
American author

You don’t need to change what you see. Just change how you look at things. You can’t change other people or things. You can change yourself. Take another look at what you see and what you have in your hands. Get out of your usual way of thinking and observe things from a different perspective. Observe people. If you change how you look at things, your brain and behavior will change. What do you receive from events, what meaning do you find in them, and how can you enrich your life? Instead of dwelling on things and getting depressed, focus your time and energy on what you can control. You don’t need to change what you see. Just change how you look at things. You can change yourself right now.

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「自分自身を愛することを忘れるな。」
“Don’t forget to love yourself.“

Søren Kierkegaard　1813-1855
Danish philosopher and thinker

In your precious life, which may seem long but is short, there is no need to be sad to the point of sacrificing yourself. The most important thing is that you can live happily. Instead of trying to change others or the past that you cannot change, focus on the present. What can you change? What can you do now for the future, and what can you make a positive change with your own efforts? Focus on those things. Don’t forget to love yourself, the most important person in your life. If you are suffering from something, it’s okay to take a break. Just as you don’t care about others, others don’t care about you. So you should walk in a way that allows you to love yourself and your life.

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“No sun outlasts its sunset, but will rise again and bring the dawn.“

Maya Angelou　1928-2014
American poet and writer

The sun rises, sets, and rises again. It has always been like this, and will always be like this. How did you spend your day today? Tomorrow, the sun will rise again, and another day will begin. And then another day will end. What kind of encounters, discoveries, and progress will you make in between? Where are you headed? No matter how wonderful a day is, or how terrible a day you feel, it will come to an end and begin again. It has been the same since ancient times. With the dawn, your life begins.

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「目指す港がないような航海をしていたら、どんな風が吹いても助けにならない。」
“No wind serves him who addresses his voyage to no certain port.“

Michel de Montaigne　1533-1592
French philosopher

Do you know where you want to go? When you are sailing on the open sea, it is not as if you just happen to arrive at the port you were aiming for. If you know your destination clearly and keep thinking about it, you will be able to notice even the most minute changes in the sea and sky that others might overlook, and you will be able to use the wind that blows by chance or fate to your advantage. So, if you are setting sail, it is better to decide the port you are aiming for before you set sail. Which port do you want to go to? If you have decided that, you will boldly face any storm that may come, and on days when the waves are calm, you will be able to face yourself in the midst of the nature of the open sea, raise the sails straight and without hesitation, and sail the ship towards your destination.

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「そのことはできる、それをやる、と決断せよ。それからその方法を見つけるのだ。」
“Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.“

Abraham Lincoln　1809-1865

Whatever you do, it is important to first decide on a goal. As you try and fail many times, the best way to achieve it will become clear. If you always keep your antenna up, when the information or opportunity you need to grab comes along, you will be more likely to achieve your dreams and goals than if you hadn’t kept your antenna up. And the most important thing is not just to think about it, but to actually take action. No matter how small it may be, take action. It is your daily accumulation, your daily challenges that may seem small, that create great results and success in the future. So first decide that you can do it and that you will accomplish it. Once you decide, the method will become clear.

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「ひとつのドアが閉まっている時、もっとたくさんのドアが開いているんだよ。」
“When one door is closed, many more is open.“

Bob Marley　1945-1981
Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist

There is not just one door. There are countless. Do you realize that? When the door in front of you is closed, you may feel like that is the only door and even be crushed by sadness and despair. But that is not the case at all. When a certain door that is blocking your way is closed, if you look at other doors, you will see that there are countless doors. You are free to choose any door. The more you look, the more doors you will see. Moreover, you can even create your own doors. So you should never be discouraged. If the door is closed no matter how much you push or pull it, it shows you that there is another way to be happy. On the contrary, it is wonderful that you have tried so many times to open the door. Cheers to your challenge. So now, with your extraordinary determination and courage, let’s go through another new door.

My Choice

「私の人生を変えられるのは私だけよ。誰も私のためにそんなことやってくれないわ。」
“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.“

Carol Burnett　1933-
American comedian, actress, singer

Like you, everyone is preoccupied with themselves. Are you living your own life? Are you choosing your own life? Only you can shape your life, not anyone else in the world. You are the one who decides everything in the end. Time will not wait. The sand that falls downwards in the hourglass never flows upwards. We’re going to ask you again. Are you living your life, not someone else’s? Are you creating and choosing a life that you are proud of, not for others, but for yourself?

My Choice

「夢、これ以外に将来をつくり出すものはない。」
“There is nothing like a dream to create the future.“

Victor Hugo　1802-1885
French novelist best known as the author of “Les Miserables”

Dreams. As a child, you could innocently dream, but as you grow up, you may have become more realistic. Dream at any age. People live as they think. We become the people we think about. Because people act according to their thoughts. This means that if you change your thoughts and actions, you can change. You can become anything. As long as that dream comes from the depths of your heart and you can continue to be passionate about it. Dream. Let’s build a ladder to the stars. People can change at any age. Don’t worry about what others think, just pursue your dreams. Your dreams.

My Choice