You Can Make Life Better If You Truly Wish
I understand that many individuals have, at times, pondered and experienced the same feelings of doubt about whether their lives would ever improve. I’ve often found myself in that same position, wondering if this dreadful feeling would ever dissipate during my days as a five-day-a-week work slave in a job I despised.
Moreover, most people tend to have the illusion to believe that if they meet a special person who becomes their boyfriend or girlfriend, their lives will be better magically. I know this life’s illusion since I was one of those who believed in this delusion that if I could meet the one, my life would become better magically. However, the simple truth is that nobody can make your life better; only you yourself have the power to make your life better. As a matter of fact, you can make life better anytime if you truly wish to see the better version of yourself.
How Can You Make Life Better?
If you truly want to make your life better, start by having honest conversations with yourself and assess whether you’re doing what you love in your daily life. If the answer is a clear “NO,” it’s time to take a decisive step: Do what you’ve always wanted to do.
If you don’t like your current job, you had better quit it forthwith, for I am sure it is the root cause of your unhappiness. If you continue doing what you hate to earn a monthly salary, you will forever ask God when your life will get better for the rest of your life. You must do what you love every single day for the rest of your life – that’s the only way to make your life better and more interesting! If you do what you love every single day, people will recognize your euphoric state.
I depicted in Liberation: Seeking the Meaning of Life how my life has been getting better once I have started following my heart:
On the day before my trip to Los Angeles, I visited the office because I had a scheduled appointment with Jorgito. When I entered the office, he was calculating the expense of materials for his next project. He said, “Hey Shogo, how are you? I was waiting for you. Sorry for asking you to come to the office, because I know you are busy with writing, but I want to talk with you before you fly to Los Angeles.”
“Please sit down here, Shogo. Give me five minutes to finish this,” he offered me the chair.
“No problem, take your time, my friend,” I lit a cigarette and looked at the outside below to watch happy passersby in the sun from the window.
“Shogo, I’m done. Are you going to Los Angeles tomorrow?”
“Yes, my friend. I’m looking forward to embarking on a new adventure.”
“I’m so relieved by your final decision. It’s much better for you to fly to Los Angeles than fly to Japan. And it’s much cheaper. Still, you have to pay some expenses for this errand, though.”
He was looking outside for a while with a pensive face and confessed, “You know, Shogo, the other day when you told me that you would go back to Japan because of the stupid problem, I was so mad at you. I thought, why did you have to go back to Japan? You’re halfway through your mission, and everything is getting better for you. Also, I was so mad at the goddamn Japanese. Why don’t they want to let you know about your PIN number over the phone? You’re living in Mexico and doing the most important thing in your life, but they don’t want to help you; they obstinately make you go back to Japan to have the proper proceedings. Is the bank’s regulation more important than one’s destiny? I really don’t think so. I don’t understand Japanese sometimes. Why don’t they just make an exception on this special occasion? Why don’t they want to help their fellow man who is trying to realize his dream? Why do they heartlessly try to hinder their fellow man who perseveres to follow his own destiny? I don’t comprehend Japanese bastards!”
“I know you were very angry with me the other day. I am sorry because I wasn’t quite myself, and my mental state was shaking. Anyway, forget about the Japanese because talking about incurable, cold-hearted creatures is a waste of our precious time completely. Let’s talk about something more cheerful, my friend.”
A happy smile appeared on his face, and he uttered jubilantly, “Welcome back, Shogo. Now you’ve become yourself again. It is a nice feeling to have old Shogo back again!”
His animated expression made me smile, and I said emotionally, “Thank you very much for everything, Jorgito. I don’t mean only this occasion, but the whole thing you’ve done for me. I really appreciate your kindness, and I am lucky to have you as a best friend.”
“Oh, Shogo, you don’t need to thank me because you are my friend. It’s my great pleasure to help you all the time. By the way, everyone tells me that you’re looking better, day by day, and your eyes are sparkling more than ever,” he nodded pleasingly.
“Who said that?”
“Everyone, my parents, my friends, including Betty, who is my housemaid, you know. Every time someone asks me why you look intoxicated and elated, I feel so happy because I know about the secret of your euphoric state. Every time someone asks me about your radiant face, I nod to myself contentedly and talk to myself under my breath, ‘I know why Shogo is happy every day – because he is free! He doesn’t need to take a job his heart refuses, he’s started writing, he is living his dear life in his own sweet way; he isn’t in Japan; he is in Mexico; he is doing every day what his heart desires, and so on and so forth.”
Here, I couldn’t refrain from uttering, “Because of you, my friend. You’ve made me come here and given me the opportunity to find my true self. Without your help, I couldn’t get started. You must know your friendship made me start and made my crucial dream realize.”
He blushed and replied embarrassingly, “Oh, Shogo, you’re very welcome. I am just happy to hear that you are happy and enjoying your life here in Mexico. You know what I’m thinking about? I’ve been thinking about your past three months’ life. You came to Mexico City, visited Playa Del Carmen, and now you’re going to Los Angeles! You are the happiest Japanese bird under the vast firmament, my friend. Can you believe that the new adventure lined up for you again? Isn’t it incredible, is it?”
I was laughing from ecstasy, “Yes, I can’t believe what a wonderful life God has prepared for me. I’m looking forward to having a new adventure in Los Angeles.”
Focus on What You Have Always Wanted to Do for Your Dear Life
When you start doing what you love the most every single day, your life will get better magically, and you will find yourself falling in love with both yourself and life itself. Of course, you will feel disappointed, discouraged, dejected, dispirited, frustrated, anxious, worried, and so on along the road to your destiny. It is inevitable. But it is called life, isn’t it? Taking a risk to walk on your private destiny is the key to making your life better and worthwhile. When you start living each day according to your heart’s prompting and doing what you love the most, you will be happy and feel alive even if you face countless discouragements and disappointments.
Moreover, I assure you that your life starts becoming better from the moment you begin doing what you’ve always wanted to do for your dear life. I described my happiness with doing what I love every single day in Mexican Rhapsody: Having a Second Chance:
March arrives with the floral scent of hyacinths. Trees are soughing ecstatically as if heaven and earth were rocking. I have continued to stay at Gerardo’s apartment. A month has elapsed quickly since my triumphant return from Los Angeles. Needless to say, I am happy as an adolescent Pan and feel like being on the top of the world. I wake up full of vigor every day, for I have a great task to tackle: writing a book. My book has been bigger and bigger each day, and I feel that my journey of writing Liberation: Seeking the Meaning of Life will reach an end very soon.
All in all, I have started being in love with Mexico, and regarding that, Mexico is one of my sweet homes. What I love about Mexico the most is the weather. Now, it is the middle of March, and the bright sun dances in God’s heaven every day. Mighty sunshine always baths my whole being as if the heavenly Father himself nourished me. I need only a T-shirt and jeans to stroll around La Condesa. Thank God, I am feeling so alive!
Since my return from Los Angeles, I have been committing to myself, diligently following my program with body and soul. I have to wake up at nine sharp, eat breakfast, go to Starbucks to write for three hours, and amble around La Condesa, where I usually sink into a deep reverie while sitting on a bench and admiring the fountain. After that, I eat lunch and head back to the apartment to write for another three hours before heading out to Galerías Polanco for dinner. To end the evening, I settle on a comfortable couch at Starbucks, once again relaxing with sweet music before striding back to the apartment to write for another two hours. At the end of the day, I always feel as exhausted as Elijah, the prophet, felt after challenging the forty-five hundred priests of Baal imported by Jezebel to a contest at Mt. Carmel to prove whose god is the true God. However, it is a good feeling for me to burn out like that, and I feel content with my progress each day.
YOU NEED TO UNLOCK YOUR COURAGE TO TAKE A RISK AND CHASE AFTER YOUR DREAMS, COME HELL OR HIGH WATER. THEN, YOUR LIFE WILL START GETTING BETTER MAGICALLY. MOST IMPORTANTLY, YOU MUST WALK ON YOUR PRIVATE DESTINY RELENTLESSLY – AND THAT WILL MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
