Word 042
In the mountains east of Nara, behind Kasuga Taisha Shrine, there is an ancient forest that has long remained untouched by human hands. Protected for centuries as the sacred grove of Kasuga, these trees have grown broad and deep-rooted, their canopy spreading quietly across the sky.
Beneath the soil, the roots of the trees are quietly intertwined. From the surface, each tree appears to stand alone — yet below, an invisible web connects them, roots sharing water and nutrients with their neighbors in silent exchange.
Fallen trunks slowly return to the earth, becoming nourishment for the trees around them. Young saplings take root and grow, sheltered by the shade of ancient trees. In this forest, nothing exists in isolation.
Regardless of how you feel about it,
you are connected to those around you.
So it is not appropriate to put yourself down by saying,
"I haven't done anything, I haven't been able to contribute anything."
Simply by existing, you are genuinely contributing.
Yes — just being here is enough.
That which is invisible is not, therefore, absent.
Just as the roots of Kasuga Mountain hold quietly together beneath the earth, your presence, too, is supporting something in someone's life — perhaps without either of you knowing.