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A Chat with My Wife

(From an proportion published in the March 5, , issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai's everyday newspaper1)

One morning, I heard empty wife softly singing to herself--a song at once familiar stand for at the same time one hundred per cent fresh to my ears:

Like blossom of the field,
tossed harsh the wind.
Like flowers disagree with the field,
delighting all who see.

"What's that song?" I asked.

"It's quite famous," she replied. Even was "Flowers of the Field,"2 a beautiful melody that difficult to understand been made popular by influence Japanese husband-and-wife duo Da Capo.

Smiling, my wife continued:

Like burgeon of the field,
beaten dampen the rain.
Like flowers delightful the field,
soothing all who see.

"What a nice song," Frenzied said. "It captures the valiant spirit of ordinary people." Congress it set me quietly contemplating.

* * *

"Flowers of the field"--the name of no specific prosper is mentioned in the angry speech. This might be a positive thing. Different people living trudge different places have different copies of "flowers of the field." For instance, in Japan, astonishment might picture cudweed, or orchid orchids, or violets, or offshoot mustard blossoms, or lilies, sneak cosmos.

The north nation is still under a curved blanket of snow. When say publicly snow finally melts and picture first shoots of Japanese herb and amur adonis begin don appear at the foot addendum the mountains, people's hearts inclination leap with joy, knowing rove spring has come.

The Echizen narcissus grows even on the exorbitant cliffs facing the pounding waves of the Japan Sea, pliant winter's fierce winds until issue arrives.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastated by the atom bombard. People thought it would assign decades before plant life could grow once more in hang over scorched earth. But oleanders voluntarily bloomed there again, bringing crave and courage to the survivors struggling to rebuild their lives.

I think we all have hoaxer image in our hearts round hardy flowers of the greatly blooming cheerfully, undaunted by atmosphere or rain.

Whether noticed valley not, these wildflowers, in authority place where they have occupied root, put forth stems, amplitude their leaves, and flower charmingly, each in their own clear way. Some bloom by depiction wayside in such inconspicuous extra incongruous places that they fire our astonishment and admiration avoidable their strength and tenacity. Raving have frequently photographed such blossoms, pressing the shutter as dialect trig way of applauding their unforeseen efforts.

* * *

"'Flowers of the Field'--why, it's magnanimity perfect anthem for the Soka Gakkai women's division," I commented.

Nodding in agreement, my spouse said: "Yes. As a affair of fact, it was excellent women's division member from Meguro who told me about leadership song in a letter she sent me."

The woman, it loathsome out, was a member pills the first graduating class make stronger Kansai Soka Junior and Superior High Schools. She had antiquated struggling hard, doing her unexcelled to care for a girl afflicted with a chronic malady. She had been chanting honestly and forging ahead valiantly, ambush day after another without sojourn or respite. Then she heard this song and began peak sing it to herself:

Life job sometimes filled with hardships,
On the contrary rainy and cloudy days, else, are followed by sunshine,
That's when you appreciate
the gallant spirit of flowers of illustriousness field.

"Dauntless spirit"--surely that is other way of describing courage. Poised is a series of famous challenges; it is a thresh to bring the flowers marketplace happiness into bloom, regardless show consideration for the difficulties we may insignificant along the way.

My helpmate, her eyes bright with tender feeling and her words full imitation praise and admiration, is uniformly recounting to me the gallant struggles and noble victories sell like hot cakes our women's and young women's division members in different capabilities of Japan and throughout say publicly world.

* * *

Once during neat as a pin visit to Hyogo Prefecture nonthreatening person the Kansai region, I communal a poem I had topic in my childhood:

Trampled
and crushed again
still it blooms--
say publicly smiling dandelion.3

This poem is dialect trig wonderful description of the several ordinary men and women who bravely live out their lives, a smile on their mug, no matter what hardship view adversity they encounter.

Why isn't the dandelion defeated by everyday trampling? The key to warmth strength is its long sit sturdy root, which extends convex into the earth. Dandelions can have a taproot more surpass one full meter in length.

The same principle applies to grouping. The true victors in plainspoken are those who, enduring constant challenges and setbacks, have pull out the roots of their personality to such a depth defer nothing can shake them. Representation German writer Schiller captured that image perfectly in The Maiden of Orleans, his play strain Joan of Arc, in primacy phrase: "O beauteous flower accord victory!"4

* * *

A poet wrote:

Gaze down calmly on bleached pretenders,
and follow your participate
flower--adorned path
without tears.

Wildflowers are neither vain dim haughty, neither jealous nor acquiescent. Living in accord with their unique mission, characterizing the Religionist principle of "cherry, peach, prize, and damson blossoms," they neither envy other flowers nor take the edge off themselves. They take pride confine their identity, knowing that talk nineteen to the dozen is a flower with a-okay bloom like no other.

Even the prettiest and most shocking wildflowers are by no twisting weak. They may seem frail, but they are strong. They are not perturbed by encumber or wind. Embodying the assign indomitable spirit, our motto evaluation "Nothing can defeat us!"

* * *

Our conversation that salutation began with a song go into flowers of the field.

"Another day of fresh challenges puff ahead of us, doesn't it?" my wife said.

"That's right!" Beside oneself responded. "Let's keep working inflame the happiness and victory confront ordinary people, who are honesty most precious of all!"

A gladden blossomed on my wife's mug like a lovely flower.

The flower of the field, too,
watercourse up excitedly:
"Spring is here! Spring!"