Ch 14 — Per Ardua Ad Astra

Initially, the Japanese learned to produce steel from the Americans, but now they have developed that skill to the point where they are capable of exporting it back to the United States. Japan, which was once a student of America, has made such advancements in various fields, especially in communications and electronics, that the U.S. is now entering into agreements with Japan for technical assistance in its military-critical sectors. Commenting on this experience in Japan, a newspaper observer wrote:

Japan was content to endure industrial subjugation for 20 years, which resulted in its current status of industrial dominance. Had it insisted on dominance from the very beginning, it would have only led to perpetual subjugation. To gain something, one must be willing to lose something; to reach a height, one must tolerate some degree of lowliness. This is the law of the world. Those who adapt to this law of the world succeed in God’s creation, while those who refuse to comply are destined to fail and subsequently blame others for their ruin in vain.

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.

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.

AWARENESS OF PURPOSE

Purpose awakens a person’s latent strengths and transforms them into a new, empowered individual. It is only by reviving a sense of purpose in its citizens that a nation can be built.