“Accumulated Problems” Show Us the Path to Take

However, on the other hand, there may be those who are heavyhearted due to problems carried over from the previous year. A difficult problem, which cannot be easily solved, looms over you. Accumulated problems make it impossible to proceed forward or retreat, leaving you at loss.… For those who are in such a situation, please try to think as follows:

Facing a problem means that it shows you where to go and what challenge to take on. It clearly shows you on what you should concentrate within the limited time of your life.

Whether You Have Discovered the True Problem

There is one thing that must be made certain. It is whether you have discovered the true problem. It is not necessarily self-evident.

When a problem occurs, we generally perceive its cause to be external. We tend to blame something other than ourselves: “It is that person’s fault” or “This is the problem.” When we do so, we cannot find the true problem.

Additionally, even if we are able to analyze the situation objectively, if we disconnect ourselves from it, it is as if we have not found the true problem. This is because the true problem always appears as something to which we can respond with our own initiative.

Individuals who seek the Study of the Soul, have the attitude of first accepting every problem as their own. In this sense, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are one step ahead of others.

The Power to Discover the True Theme

In recent years, the power to discover problems is becoming more recognized than the power to solve

them. For example, as I have mentioned earlier, if we overlook the true problem hidden within reality, it is obvious that we will never solve it no matter how hard we work on it. When solving any kind of problem, discovering the true problem is essential.

In scientific research, the importance of posing a question and the significance of setting a hypothesis are well known. Both Dr. Yukawa who predicted the existence of the meson and Einstein who set the new hypothesis on the relationship between time and space, in a sense were praised not because they proved these hypotheses, but because they raised such questions.

Furthermore, discovering the theme is especially important in the creation of a new reality.

No matter how wonderful an invention or how much like a dream a product is, they would not have been conceived in this world without someone who thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if such a thing existed?” Thus, it is

much more crucial to first come up with the idea rather than to have the technology to materialize that thought.

In society today, there has reportedly been an emergence of a “discontent purchasing business.” This is a business that buys people’s discontent and sells it to various types of industries. This shows how valuable it is to discover a problem or a theme.

In life, discovery of the true problem or true theme holds a crucial meaning. During the starting month of a new year, I would like you to take this time to discover your true theme.

Preliminary translation as of December 23, 2014

GLA member-volunteers translated Takahashi Sensei’s words.
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