I was watching the news yesterday and I was very surprised to see that a lot of snow fell in Tokyo. The weather report said that about 20 cm of snow covered the city. The city was in deep winter. The snow made a lot of trouble for everyone.

Haneda and Narita airports had many cancelled flights. Many people had to stay in the airports all night. They were sleeping in chairs and on the floor. Many trains stopped and people could not go home after work. Buses were slow. Taxis were full of people. Many people could not move. The snow stopped them. Winter can freeze a city. Winter can freeze everything.

The news reporters talked about people walking on the road and sidewalks. There was a lot of ice and it was dangerous. People tried to ride bicycles and they crashed. People tried to run and they fell down. Walking was not safe. It was very slippery and very icy.

Quickly people learned that you cannot drive your car easily on an icy road. People walking learned that you cannot run or ride a bicycle on ice. Everyone understood that when winter comes you cannot move quickly. When winter comes you need to go a little slow, you need to calm your mind, and you need to not push too much.

This kind of terrible winter storm does not come to Tokyo often. It is something that Tokyo cannot prepare for. Winter is like that. Winter comes quietly and then quickly, and then you are covered in snow. You are covered in ice.

When you walk on ice you need to bend your knees. When you walk on ice you need to look ahead and keep your hands free. That means that you cannot use your cell phone. When you walk on ice you must know that you will slide and slip, but you can keep your balance. You can keep your body safe, but you must prepare your mind and move slowly. Do not panic. Do not freeze. Stay flexible. Stay calm. You will be okay.

Maybe sometimes we have trouble in our daily lives. Students have a lot of tests. Your teachers and parents have trouble at their jobs. Winter comes. Students and parents and teachers have lots of problems and troubles. Winter comes and trouble is everywhere. Things are frozen. Things do not move. It is easy to fall. It is easy to get some damage in your studies or in your job.

What can we do when winter comes? What can we do when the season of trouble comes?

Bend your knees. Control your mind. Do not panic. Do not move too suddenly. Be flexible.

The truth is that trouble always comes in life, just like winter comes every year. We know that winter comes after fall. We know that trouble comes when life is going smooth. The most important thing for us to remember is that trouble and winter are short times only.

The sun will rise. The snow will melt. Tomorrow comes. Things that are hard today are a little less hard tomorrow. We will endure and we will survive.

One more thing about the trouble of the winter storm in Tokyo I thought was interesting is that many people naturally helped other people. A car cannot move on the street and many people step out to help push that car. Someone cannot go home and other people help that person. In times of trouble and in times of winter, we naturally help one another. That is a beautiful thing.

The road may be ice, but people’s hearts are warm.