I teach about health inspired by simple Japanese philosophies and lifestyle practices, so you can learn to find peace, fulfillment, strength, and health in your own body. Sign up for my newsletter to receive all my writing and exclusive resources!
The strange thing about writing ‘thank you’ in Japanese
|
Dear Reader, The season of gratitude is coming up, so I've been thinking a lot about the things I am grateful for. And in that chain of thought, I discovered something interesting -- it had never occurred to me before, but the Japanese characters for “thank you” are composed of two unlikely words: 有: To have, possess 難: Difficulty, hardship 有難う (arigato): Thank you What a strange combination of words to express gratitude. Why the characters for ‘thank you’ is ‘difficult to have’ The characters for 'thank you', or arigato, were thought to be developed by Buddhist linguists, based on their beliefs toward gratitude. Arigato means that good things in life are never obvious or a natural human right, but to be able to say thank you is actually a miracle in life. There are so many things that can come in the way of something not happening or manifesting — wrong place, wrong time, wrong person, wrong words — and consequently everything good that happens to us is a combination of many miracles. The ability to say thank you is in fact, something difficult to have. Arigato (有難う) = thank you Arigatai (有難い) = grateful The words ‘thank you’ and grateful are very similar in Japanese. While thank you reads as arigato, grateful reads as arigatai, and many Japanese people see the two concepts as one and the same. To be thankful is not just to be pleased or relieved, but is also to be grateful, which is to feel appreciation for something done or received.
Life is full of miracles when you're grateful Living is the world’s greatest coincidence, all things considered with the universe’s billions and billions of possibilities. To have restful sleep, nourishing meals, the ability to move, and sincere relationships -- on the daily we might find that they are obvious rights to possess, but upon closer inspection we realize that they are the outcomes of many odds, and that to have it is something to feel grateful for. So the next time you have the opportunity to say thank you, it may be worthwhile to also take the time to remember that it is not such an obvious thing to be able to say. And with that, thank you for being here. It truly means a lot to me, and I feel very grateful to connect with you 😊 Warmly, Kaki Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, please forward this email to your friends and family (or share the article) 🌱 If this email was forwarded to you, it's nice to meet you 😊
Follow on Instagram for more health tips, tricks, and inspiration: |
Hi, I'm Kaki!
I teach about health inspired by simple Japanese philosophies and lifestyle practices, so you can learn to find peace, fulfillment, strength, and health in your own body. Sign up for my newsletter to receive all my writing and exclusive resources!
Dear Reader, With the pressure of resolutions, setting goals, and fresh beginnings, the inside of my brain around the new year often looks something like this: Illustrations by Kaki Okumura It would be typical of me to start the new year with a million unanswered questions, worries, and concerns about if I was “on the right path”. But often towards the end of the year, reflecting back, I realize I have come very far in answering many of those concerns and untangling a situation which at the...
Dear Reader, My annual physical is usually unremarkable (thankfully), but one appointment with a doctor really left an impression on me. She was asking me a few routine questions about my lifestyle habits, and the topic of drinking came up. I told her I didn’t drink much and she was like, good! Less is better. “If you hear that alcohol is good for your health, it’s probably the social aspects of drinking, not the drink itself. Drink with people, but I don’t encourage you to drink with...
Dear Reader, Ah it’s Thanksgiving weekend, which means that I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude. The people and things I’m grateful for, but also the value of practicing gratitude. It seems like such a simple thing, but it can bring more calm, more peace. Maybe a bit more happiness. Photo from this year's Friendsgiving! Potluck-style ❤️ I loved how colorful my plate was this year. There’s a lot that can be said about gratitude, but today I’d like to talk about how to find freedom from...