A childhood dream comes true.
naturallife4325My gratitude report this time was brought to my attention by the story of the "Dragon God of Ponds" told by the representative at last month's study session.
Since I was in the upper grades of elementary school, I have wanted to clean up a small river that flowed in my neighborhood. The river was not even 5 meters wide and was made of concrete, with about 20 cm of sludge at the bottom, so it was called a ditch river. It was an irrigation channel, but it was an irreplaceable place for me to catch turtles, crucian carp, rice eels, catfish, etc., and to explore. As the river became more and more polluted, and the creatures disappeared, I began to think that I wanted to make the river a place where the creatures could come back somehow. I also came to appreciate nature and to have compassion for living creatures, and I came to believe that nature is a god.
I studied about rivers and water quality, and also founded an environmental club and engaged in activities. However, although I was able to grasp the knowledge and imagination of how to bring back the creatures, I was at a loss as to what I could do to actually improve the situation. I thought about signing petitions, consulting with the city hall, and appealing directly to the factories, but I felt that, objectively speaking, there was probably no one else who strongly wanted to clean up the river other than me, and that there was nothing more I could do. I had half given up.
About 13 years have passed since then, and at a study session last month, I was able to learn the story of the "Dragon God of the Pond" from the representative. It was a wonderful story of how the dragon god would perform the amatsuno rito and Zen-gen sanji to the pond to demonstrate the true power of the dragon god. I thought to myself, "There was a way that even one mere mortal could do this and save the river! I was overflowing with joy. I felt that this was truly a divine act that could not be done by human power.
For me, nature is like a spiritual support and benefactor, and I am grateful to nature for giving me energy. I am just filled with gratitude for the mercy of the Messiah, who shows me that everything is connected and there is something I can do, when I felt helpless and could only pray.
From now on, I would like to visit many rivers and ponds, including my local river, and devote myself more diligently than ever before so that I can become a human being in line with the intentions of the Messiah.
Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to report my gratitude today.
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