In a person's life,
Looking back on it later,
There are moments when you realize, "That was a meaningful event."<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that time, I didn't understand anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, standing there,
Feeling the wind,
A time spent simply listening to the sound of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in that quiet time,
Sometimes, the seeds for future paths are laid out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the mountainous region of Nagano, there is a place called Lake Nojiri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In summer, a cool breeze blows through the mountains.
The lake's surface reflects the light silently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has long been known as a summer resort,
Beneath that lies another side, one that is rarely spoken of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the shore of the lake,
Christian pastors gather only during the summer,
There is a small village of vacation homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a short period of about two months,
They stayed there,
Have time for prayer and learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In that place, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the outside world,
There is an indescribable stillness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In one corner of the village,
There is a church standing quietly in the distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It's not very big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But once you take a step inside,
I can feel the flow of time slowly changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The statue of Mary there is made of bronze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not a polished white,
A deep, gentle brown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it receives light,
The color was like water,
His expression changes quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I was young,
I once stayed in that place for about ten days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn't do anything special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
just,
He was there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sound of the wind,
The swaying of the trees,
The calm waves of the lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While being enveloped by them,
People gradually begin to confront their inner selves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time passed,
I left that place,
They will each go their separate ways and live their own lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I got married,
I work,
Take responsibility,
I immersed myself in the realities of everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then one day,
I had the opportunity to visit that church again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same place as before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same lake.
The same air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But at that time,
He had already become a different person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Entering the church,
Standing quietly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suddenly,
Something beyond words reached my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It's not a voice.
However, it certainly gets the message across.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
"Touch the feet of Christ and pray."<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That's how I felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I left it as it was.
Approach the statue,
I touched her foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Metal, which should be cold,
It felt strangely soft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then I just prayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What did he pray for?
I can't remember clearly now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But only at that moment,
It remains vividly in my memory even now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many years passed after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I dedicated my life to work related to water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water is a mysterious substance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Accept everything,
Let it all go,
It encompasses everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes it becomes cloudy,
Sometimes it gets rough,
Sometimes it becomes quietly clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But its essence remains unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter how dirty it gets,
Water naturally tries to return to its pure state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was fascinated by its nature,
I have continued to learn techniques for handling water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually,
Any water,
It became possible to restore it to a near-pure state once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that time,
I suddenly realized something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I'm not dealing with water,
Perhaps they are serving the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water is the mother of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And within that flow,
There is some kind of invisible will at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In India, Saraswati flows as a river.
In Japan, Benten is worshipped as the goddess of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And far away in Brazil,
A brown-skinned Madonna who emerged from the water is worshipped by the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The name is different.
The locations are different too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what lies beneath it is
They might be the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone, somewhere,
I was led along by that current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When will that be?
I don't know what form it will take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But quietly and surely,
The path is already laid out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And now,
A new trend is about to emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
it is,
There's no need to rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It's not something that makes a loud noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
just,
It starts small, but surely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understanding each and every detail.
Each and every experience.
It's all about building things up one step at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like flowing water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without straining yourself,
But definitely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually, people
They have a role to play within that process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Someone will become the protector,
Someone will become the one to pass on the message,
Someone will be the one who is guided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But everything is in the same water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the flow is,
It will definitely continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quietly,
Gently,
Without interruption.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u4eba\u306e\u4eba\u751f\u306b\u306f\u3001\u5f8c\u306b\u306a\u3063\u3066\u632f\u308a\u8fd4\u3063\u305f\u3068\u304d\u306b\u3001\u300c\u3042\u308c\u306f\u610f\u5473\u306e\u3042\u308b\u51fa\u6765\u4e8b\u3060\u3063\u305f\u300d\u3068\u6c17\u3065\u304f\u77ac\u9593\u304c\u3042\u308b\u3002 \u305d\u306e\u6642\u306f\u4f55\u3082\u5206\u304b\u3089\u306a\u3044\u3002 \u305f\u3060\u3001\u305d\u3053\u306b\u7acb\u3061\u3001\u98a8\u3092\u611f\u3058\u3001\u6c34\u306e\u97f3\u3092\u805e\u3044\u3066\u3044\u308b\u3060\u3051\u306e\u6642\u9593\u3002 \u3060\u304c\u3001\u305d\u306e\u9759\u304b\u306a\u6642\u9593\u306e\u4e2d\u306b\u3001\u5f8c\u306b\u7d9a\u304f\u9053 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20612,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elemental-life-community"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t