Inner Peace and Yoshikawa Byoin...

Have I had a good life so far? To answer this, I need to know, or define in my own way, what a good life means? Friends? Money? Profession? All of these are important factors.

Good friends can turn out to be totally boring and even betrayers. Money can provide material comfort but it does not guarantee one’s happiness. Profession, in the sense that this is something one DOES, is only a means to earn money.

One idea that has come to me quite often is one can be rich and discontent, partly because money does not provide inner peace. Just look at those super rich and supposedly ‘successful’ people who decided to take their own life. And partly because having money creates a mentality to make people get even more money out of greed or probably misplaced insecurity. Contrally, people can be dirt poor and always have a smile. Rachel, one of my old colleagues from New Zealand, mentioned in a letter so many years ago that she had met the happiest people in the world in a rural area of Indonesia. They were dividing what little food they had among themselves and even offered some to her.

Then, it finally comes down to the idea that the most important element is peace of mind. Peace of mind, this fleeting thing, is not an easy thing to attain in a modern society. I believe that it is too complicated for someone like me. Too complicated to have a moment of self reflection because you are not allowed to stop and reflect.

賭け将棋で生計を立てる「真剣師」と呼ばれ、ドラマのモデルにもなった将棋の強豪アマチュア棋士、大田学（おおた・まなぶ）氏が２１日午前５時半、大腸がんのため大阪市西区の吉川病院で死去した。９２歳。鳥取県出身。葬儀・告別式は近親者だけで執り行う。喪主は未定。（スポーツ報知）

「西区の吉川病院」って……。せっせと通ってた時期があったなぁ。