月: 2019年9月

Why do we live? What is the purpose for life? Why do you go to school? Why do you study? Why do you wake up every morning and do the same thing every day? Why do you go to your classroom? Why do you write tests? Why do we have a school? Why do we have anything?

What is the meaning of life?

This is the big question for all people. Every person, in every country, in every time, had this question. Why do you and I have a life? Why do we live?

Maybe your parents have an answer. Maybe your teachers have an answer. Maybe your grandparents and other old people have a good answer. You should ask them.

The world has so much damage. There is war. There is hate. There is trouble. There are many times when people die and there is no reason. So, what is the meaning of this crazy world of danger and violence?

We could look at some old ways of thinking about the world. We could look at philosophy. We could read all the old books of Plato and Aristotle. We could study religions. We could study Islam and Christianity. We could study Buddhism and Hinduism. We could read the books of great thinkers like Shakespeare and great Japanese writers and poets.

We could go for a walk in nature and maybe the trees and wind can tell us. We could see a waterfall and look at a rainbow. We could enjoy flowers, birds, and the changing colors of the seasons. We could travel the whole world. We could talk to everyone in every country and ask them for their advice. We can ask everyone, “Why do we live?” and “What is the meaning of my life?” Maybe you can get some information.

The question is deep. The question is difficult. But it is a good question, even if we do not find an easy or quick answer. Maybe the best questions in our lives do not have easy answers.

Maybe we should ask a better question. Let’s ask, “What is the meaning of MY life?”

Maybe the meaning of your life is to have a dream.
Maybe the meaning of your life is to grow and find a happy life.
Maybe the meaning of your life is to learn many new things.
Maybe the meaning of your life is fight for justice.
Maybe the meaning of your life is to be kind, to show love, and to help other people.

At Otemae you have to learn and study so many things. And you have so many tests. But the big part of your education here is to help you think about this very important question. Why do you live? Also, you have this life, so what do you want to do with this precious life?

You can choose. You can choose your own way.

Your study is the beginning of wisdom. In wisdom you may learn new words like, “forgiveness”, “equality”, “knowledge”, “duty”, “responsibility”, “truth”, and “purpose”. All of these words may have some part of an answer to our big question. The homework you have for many, many years is to think about these things and to answer the question, “What is the meaning of My life”.

So, search for your truth, with passion, with fire, and never, never give up. Good luck with your answer, and don’t worry if you only have a part of an answer. Learning is for your whole life.

Do you use the Internet? I use the Internet. Do you use the Internet every day? I use the Internet every day. Do you spend a long time on the Internet? Sometimes I spend a long time on the Internet.

To tell you the truth, I really like the Internet. I use it every day. I can do many things with the Internet. Maybe you feel the same way. We can use the Internet to get information quickly. We can use the Internet to find music we like, or movies we like, or comics we like. We can use the Internet for communication. For me, I use applications to have video telephone conversations with my brother in Canada every month. We can see each other. We laugh. We can even drink coffee together and have a good time.

Maybe you use the Internet for your study. I use it for my work. Maybe you use the Internet to watch YouTube. I use the Internet to find interesting new music and art. Maybe you use SNS and social media to communicate with friends. I do the same.

But sometimes we need to think about how much time we spend every day on the Internet. And maybe we should think about how much the Internet affects our lives.

There was a research report in 2018 that over 930,000 Japanese teenagers have serious trouble with the Internet. These teenagers cannot stop using the Internet and are always using it to check Instagram and YouTube. Many kids play cell phone games and they lose too much time.

This problem is a serious problem for teenagers who think that they cannot be happy without social media. But research also shows that over-using social media can have negative impact on teenager brains.

Maybe you will hear from your teacher or your mother or father, “Don’t use the Internet too much!” Maybe they tell you that you cannot use a cell phone outside your house. Maybe they tell you that cell phones are big trouble for you.

It is important to understand that your teacher and parents do not hate cell phones. They have cell phones too. But maybe they understand that too much cell phone activity can make trouble for you.

Too much cell phone use is expensive. You can lose a lot of money. Too much cell phone use is not good for your eyes. You may get damage to your eyes. Too much cell phone use is bad for your neck and your back. You will not stand straight and beautiful. Too much cell phone use in social media can make trouble with friends. You should be happy and have good communication with your friends.

It is very difficult to understand that life in your cell phone, and on the Internet, is not “real life”. It has many important things, and is good to communicate, and relax, but it is not real like nature is real. The Internet is not real like talking with a friend face to face is real. The Internet is not real like laughing with friends, or playing sports, or playing music, or drawing a picture, or walking outside, or playing with pets.

Life without Internet is sometimes better than life with Internet. You need to think about when to not touch your cell phone. You need to think about when to talk with people face to face. You need to think that it is better to look at the sky and sea is much better than looking at a very small screen on your cell phone. We should enjoy our cell phones, but we must live a good life.