What You Are Looking for is in the Library

by Michiko Aoyama

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

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.

I found myself now in a position where I was neither fully satisfied with my job nor with motherhood, yet I had to spend every moment juggling both. Every day felt like I was merely going around in circles, marking out time, day after day, and going nowhere.

Being born is probably the most difficult thing we ever have to do. I am convinced that everything else that comes afterward is nowhere near as hard. If you can survive the ordeal of being born, you can get through anything.”

“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.”

“You told me that if you only ever look in front, your view will be quite narrow. So whenever I feel stuck or don’t know what to do, I try to broaden my view. Relax my shoulders and walk sideways like a crab.”

Readers make their own personal connections to words, irrespective of the writer’s intentions, and each reader gains something unique.”