What You Are Looking for is in the Library

by Michiko Aoyama

“You managed to find employment, you go to work every day and you can feed yourself. That’s a fine achievement.”

“In a world where you don’t know what will happen next, I just do what I can right now.”

“Everybody is connected. And any one of their connections could be the start of a network that branches in many directions. If you wait for the right time to make connections, it might never happen, but if you show your face around, talk to people and see enough to give you the confidence that things could work out, then ‘one day’ might turn into ‘tomorrow.’”

There are so many things to do, but I won’t make the excuse that I have no time anymore. Instead, I will think about what I can do with the time I have. One day is going to become tomorrow.

But it’s why, whenever I feel happy or glad about something, I count my blessings and think to myself, ‘Now, wasn’t that worth all the effort of being born?’”

If you can survive the ordeal of being born, you can get through anything.”

“Life is one revelation after another. Things don’t always go to plan, no matter what your circumstances. But the flip side is all the unexpected, wonderful things that you could never have imagined happening. Ultimately it’s all for the best that many things don’t turn out the way we hoped. Try not to think of upset plans or schedules as personal failure or bad luck. If you can do that, then you can change, in your own self and in your life overall.” Then she looked off into the distance and smiled.

“You may say that it was the book, but it’s how you read a book that is most valuable, rather than any power it might have itself.”