Why not go with "positive interpretation"?

Hello, I'm copywriter Hirotaro Abe.

I still vividly recall the spring of 2020. On April 7, 2020, the "State of Emergency" was declared. Around that time, my phone's push notifications started constantly alerting me to news about the novel coronavirus.

Tap, read immediately, reread from the beginning, and then look down. More than that, I hung my head in despair at the inescapable reality. Day after day, announcements came of live events and other gatherings being canceled. My heart ached sharply.

I don't think this pain was mine alone. Events I wanted to attend were canceled. Welcome parties and farewell gatherings at restaurants became difficult. Family gatherings I had planned had to be postponed. You probably know the feeling too, right?

It wasn't just the cancellations of future plans. The uncertainty that came with not being able to see ahead.
A suffocating feeling that made my breath shallow. What will happen next? Will I manage okay? I had absolutely no idea... Frustrating, painful, and an indescribable emotion swirled in my heart.

History has a story. What about Newton?

I myself was on the verge of being swallowed by anxiety. While acknowledging my own brooding, I also hated the idea of just waiting without doing anything. At that moment, I remembered something I always talk about in my lectures and workshops.
 

History has a story.

When lost about the future, trace history. There, you'll find the stories humanity has left behind. Like flailing my arms and legs, desperate to find even one clue for what lies ahead, I researched past pandemics.

What immediately caught my eye was an anecdote about Newton. It struck a chord. Newton himself was in the midst of the plague that ravaged Europe in the 17th century. While attending university and discovering the law of universal gravitation, Newton interpreted the university's "closure period" due to the plague as a " creative vacation."

I didn't want to forget this perspective, and I wanted many people to know about it! With the feeling of sharing something special, I opened Twitter and tweeted immediately.

What happened next was beyond my imagination. My phone notifications wouldn't stop. There were over ten thousand likes!

The university's interpretation was that, given the social situation, they would suspend classes for a while. You could take that at face value and, of course, just rest. That's one way to live.

But Newton was different. He didn't dismiss it as "just the way things are." He interpreted this break as time for creation, expanding possibilities. What a brilliant shift—reaching for another way of living.
 

"Creative Vacation"

 

It's strange how the mere existence of this phrase makes my heart lighten, wondering if I can make something of this stay-at-home time. In these times when we might tie ourselves down with thoughts like "it has to be this way," I sensed a feeling that perhaps everyone is craving a way to interpret things.

If we're going to do this, let's embrace a "positive interpretation."

When I create ads, I actively consider " how things are perceived." Like Newton did, how do we perceive current events? I believe the accumulation of such interpretations profoundly changes a person's life. I'd like to propose this to everyone: Why not embrace " positive interpretation "?

Our lives progress through past, present, and future. The common understanding is that time flows unidirectionally from past to future. Represented simply with an arrow, it looks like this:

Past → Present → Future

I used to see it this way too. Past events are irreversible from the present. And now, many people talk about how the future might change.

We think about how to prepare for what's to come. That's certainly very important. Still, I wonder. Precisely now, as the world changes dramatically, shouldn't the very first thing we focus on be our own existence?

By first reinterpreting yourself, then the present, your own heart becomes clearer. Then, with your present self at the center, you interpret the past and the future. By reflecting on the past and reaching toward the future, I believe you develop a core as resilient as a willow that never breaks, no matter how strong the wind blows.

Often, words hurled at us in the past, along with preconceptions and assumptions, define us and shackle our future. We resign ourselves to thinking "this is just how it is" and arbitrarily belittle ourselves. That, to me, is incredibly frustrating.

There really isn't a single thing that absolutely has to be a certain way. Knowing that you are undoubtedly the center of your own life is what allows you to reclaim control over it. You can't change the flow of time. But I believe that starting from who you are right here, right now, you can change even the past, even the future. By creating your own flow, you stop being tossed about by others or the world.

To do that, don't swallow events whole. Chew them over and savor them, interpreting them carefully. By actively interpreting what happens to you, I believe you can affirm yourself and walk your own path each day.

"Hey, That Might Just Be Your Own Assumption! Practicing 'Interpretation' Unbound by Someone Else's Answers"
Discover Twenty-One, 288 pages, ¥1,650 (tax included), ISBN 978-4799327371

For concrete methods on how to interpret things to avoid arbitrarily defining yourself, please check out my book, 'Hey, That Might Be an Arbitrary Assumption! '.

We're now in what's called the "Age of Air." Formless things gain meaning, and imagination and critical thinking are increasingly demanded. How do we live in such times? No matter what happens next, no matter what situation we face, I believe it all comes down to interpretation.

Next time, we'll explore interpreting "your own name."