PER ARDUA AD ASTRA
When the spirit of reconstruction, marked by positive action, takes root, it inevitably paves the way for success. Conversely, when a mindset of protest and complaint, driven by negative reaction, arises, it leads only to further destruction.
An English scholar, Mr Ian Nish, travelled to Japan. He lived there for eleven years, learned the Japanese language, and conducted an in-depth study of the Japanese people. He subsequently published the results of his research in a 238-page book titled The Story of Japan. The author writes:
What has most profoundly impacted the life of the Japanese nation is not politics but the great Kanto earthquake. On September 1, 1923, the tremendous shocks of the earthquake devastated eastern Japan, which was the most densely populated area. The second man-made earthquake was Japan’s defeat in 1945 when two atomic bombs turned two of Japan’s largest cities into piles of rubble. If an earthquake inspires a mindset of reconstruction, it can become a staircase to new development. In contrast, if the quake only evokes feelings of deprivation and frustration, it gives rise to political outcries that, in terms of results, are as meaningless as can be.
The most important thing in a person’s life is the spirit of action. When the urge to act arises within a person, all their dormant powers awaken. They think better, devise more successful plans, and diligently engage in completing their tasks. Conversely, a person who lacks the urge to act remains lethargic, like a machine that is silent and motionless. Experience shows that states of satisfaction and contentment generally lull a person’s faculties, failing to awaken their inner capabilities. On the other hand, when a person faces difficulties and obstacles in life, their hidden strengths are jolted awake. Their abilities spring to life just as a person who is unaware and asleep suddenly awakens when a stone falls upon them.
However, this benefit does not come to anyone automatically. In every situation, a person must play an initial role. Whenever a ‘destructive’ event occurs in a person’s life, it places them between two possibilities. They can either learn from it that they must reactivate themselves and reconstruct anew, or they can derive sustenance from despair and complaints, continuing to sigh in frustration. At the initial stage, the tendency a person adopts determines the entire course of their life. Their internal capacities begin to function in accordance with this direction. Whenever an accident occurs in a person’s life, they should look at themselves rather than merely the accident. The outcome of any future event entirely depends on how a person reacts to the circumstances. If the spirit of reconstruction arises, it is a positive reaction that inevitably leads to success; if a mindset of protest and complaint emerges, it is a negative reaction that ultimately results in further destruction.
