If you seek ease, ease gets in the way and it is not easy; the ease of not seeking ease is far easier.
This saying comes from traveling medicine sellers in Toyama, but, being poorly read, I first heard it on a recent trip to Okinawa. An elderly entertainer at the hotel’s awamori bar taught it during his talk. He said something like: “When you are young, buy hardship even if you have to pay for it. If your job is to carry 10 kg of luggage and you habitually carry a little extra, you can easily handle it when the work increases a little. But if you usually slack off and carry 8 kg at a time, when the load becomes 12 kg, you cannot manage at all.”
That is certainly true. But it is not easy to do… No wonder it is called a philosophy of success. The few people who can actually put it into practice are the ones who succeed.
Now, how about myself?