日本語で読む | English
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“It is because we are alive that we feel sad.”
From Te no Hira o Taiyo ni, lyrics by Takashi Yanase (lyrics published on Uta-Net, in Japanese). English translation prepared for this article; not an official translation.
“Keep smiling today.” “Stay positive and do your best.”
Some days, words like these encourage us. On others, they feel a little too bright.
We know they are well meant. But we do not have that energy right now. The more cheerful words we encounter, the more we may feel left behind because we cannot be cheerful ourselves.
On such a day, today’s words reach us from a different angle.
A cheerful song has room for sadness
Te no Hira o Taiyo ni is a song with lyrics by Takashi Yanase and music by Taku Izumi. It first aired on NHK’s Minna no Uta in 1962.
Although it feels like a lively song, its lyrics include sadness.
Being alive brings enjoyment and happiness. But that is not all. For me, the depth of these words lies in making room for more than those feelings.
In an article from PHP (Japanese), Yanase explains that hardship and pain are also signs of being alive, and discusses why he placed sadness before joy.
Sadness is not treated as a wrong emotion. I find a quiet kindness in that.
Even your feelings do not have to behave perfectly
You made a mistake at work. You could not communicate well with someone important to you. Plans you were looking forward to were canceled.
At such times, we sometimes find another reason to blame ourselves, on top of the event itself.
“I am weak for still worrying about this.” “I need to be more positive.”
Sadness is hard enough, yet we also scold ourselves for being sad. We seem to keep a very demanding boss inside our minds.
But considering today’s words allows a slightly different perspective.
You are sad because it mattered. You are disappointed because you had hopes. You feel frustrated because you wanted to do well.
Behind those feelings may lie something you deeply valued.
Words can stay beside us without rushing us
Of course, we do not have to find meaning in every sadness. Nor do we need to force a painful experience into the conclusion that it was a good experience.
I want to receive today’s words not as an instruction to endure sadness, but as a reminder that we do not have to reject ourselves for remaining sad.
The power of words is not limited to stirring people into action. Words can also sit beside someone who has stopped and say, “You do not have to feel better right away.”
You could not smile today. Even so, it is all right to drink something warm, rest a little, and bring the day to a close.
A day without a smile is still a day you lived.