During the Obon period, a former student of mine from eight years ago came to visit the superintendent’s office with her husband and her newborn baby, born this June. I have fond memories of accompanying her on a site inspection when the superintendent was taking a job interview for a town hall when he was the principal of Mita Seiryo High School. She is a former student who drew an illustration that the superintendent still uses today. As we talked, she remembered that the superintendent had told his students at the time to “take off the (mental) limiters,” and she told me that she was currently raising a child and taking on a new job. Her husband is also a kind and tolerant person, and I hope that the whole family will take on new challenges with a flexible mindset, Jo (the “Jo” is a Tanba Sasayama dialect word).
For teachers (and former teachers too), there is nothing more rewarding than having one of your students come to visit you.
I met her a little over a year ago, when she was still working at the town hall, at the Prefectural Board of Education General Assembly, which was held nearby. The words of the superintendent of education at the meeting, “Be guided by the flow and fate and bloom where you are planted,” and the words of my boss, encouraged me to take on a new challenge.
Life unfolds as various events come together. I know you may be anxious about how your life will progress, but you just have to do your best where you are, and that’s enough. I hope you will walk through it with a sense of excitement.
The Superintendent of Education has said things like, when he was a principal, to “remove the (mental) limiters” (don’t limit yourself with preconceived notions, but challenge yourself to do what you want to do) and more recently, to “trust the flow and connections, and do your best where you are,” so I too must walk the path in that direction.
It’s quite difficult, but I would like to trust in the flow and connections, and if possible, tackle it cheerfully and energetically. The visit of my student allowed me to reaffirm my own path (how to walk through life). Thank you, let’s walk forward together.
