Maintain a Brisk Walking Pace
Rev. Nichiko Niwano
President of Rissho Kosei-kai

Being Free of Too Much Direction

I have heard about some young people who, working hard without looking around, found their true selves through their experiences at farm labor. I think that when they took a few steps away from the city and came to feel close to the earth, having direct contact with the regular cycles of nature through planting and raising crops, they must have recognized how all living things are caused to live.

These days, with so much emphasis placed on efficiency and productivity in the workplaces, we seldom think in terms of slowing down to a walking pace, to what is the most appropriate rhythm for human life. With getting ahead always our main goal, and under constant pressure to do so, we leave little room to deeply appreciate the joys and sorrows of life, and are disappointed when our plans go wrong.

Success and failure are human measurements, but in the absolute realm that causes everything to live they have no meanings. In fact, if we develop hearts that are flexible enough to accept failure as the seed of personal development, then even if our plans fail we can turn the experience into the catalyst for spiritual growth.

Shiro Tenge, a business management specialist and the author of a book whose title translates as The Management Revolution, noted in a recent newspaper article that the American style of management aimed at improving efficiency through a performed-based work system “has had virtually no effect in Japan. On the contrary, it has led to an increase in stilted, unhappy workplaces, and the attitude of supervisors has become worse and worse.” Touching upon his early years working at Sony Corporation, he said, “Being free from a lot of direct interference and orders from above filled us employees with a great deal of enthusiasm and a positive attitude.” In today’s competitive society, this can be seen as a warning to people who risk losing their sense of individuality and creativity.

Reviving Our Thinking

Clinical depression is reported to be on the rise among young people today. One main cause is workplace stress, but another is lack of exercise and physical activity.

These days, people who do desk work and otherwise are always riding in cars, trains, and buses have few opportunities for physical exercise. As a result, they breathe in less oxygen, and their physical and mental functioning are diminished and this even affects their blood circulation. Their breathing becomes shallow, and the necessary cell metabolism is slowed down. A lack of sufficient physical exercise not only harms our bodily health, it also hurts our spiritual health.

The amount of oxygen we take in when we are actively walking is three times as great as when we are standing still. We should make a point to see that walking serves as opportunity for the entire family to develop an easy-to-follow exercise program, and make it a customary part of our everyday lives as a way of relieving stress.

By actively getting around on our own two feet, we will become aware of the important lessons such independence can teach us, and will also experience a refreshing revival in our mental processes.

From “ Kosei” June 2007 Translated by Kosei Publishing

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