Shall We Take a Little Walk?
The other day, my older sister sent me a message.
"Life isn't just about solving problems.
It's also about living."
I read it over and over again.
Then I realized...
Maybe I've always been someone who looks for problems first.
At work.
When I write novels.
Even when I'm taking care of myself.
I keep thinking,
"What should I fix next?"
After finishing a story,
I look at the page views.
The comments.
The rankings.
I wonder what could have been better.
What I should improve next time.
Without noticing,
I've become so used to solving problems
that I sometimes forget
to simply live the day I'm already in.
When I submit a manuscript,
there is nothing more I can do.
The story is no longer in my hands.
From that moment on,
all I can do
is wait.
Waiting After Opening the Noren
Not long ago, I entered a writing contest in 2026.
The story was finished.
Even so, my thoughts kept returning to it.
I couldn't help checking whether anyone had read it.
I checked the page views again and again.
It felt a little like preparing a flower shop before opening.
Every flower was quietly in bloom.
The flower stand and every potted plant had been carefully arranged.
The noren hung neatly at the entrance.
Inside, the shop was still.
The only sound was the gentle movement of the air.
Sunlight streamed through the window, finding its way into the shop, without an invitation, without hesitation.
Sometimes, without realizing it, I began to doubt myself.
For the past six months, I had been treating novel writing like a job.
At work,
you're expected to find problems quickly.
To fix them quickly.
And to keep improving.
But at that moment, I realized something.
Work requires the mind of an engineer.
But life needs the heart of a gardener even more.
Water the flowers.
Give them nourishment.
Then, let time do the rest.
Flowers don't bloom the very next day just because you've watered them.
Some problems, perhaps, cannot be solved.
That doesn't mean life has to wait until they are.
Perhaps what it truly means to live is this—
Even on a day when your body doesn't feel quite whole.
Even on a day when you still want to revise your novel.
Even on a day when the street outside your shop is still quiet.
Go for a walk anyway.
Look up at the sky.
Take a photograph.
Or simply make yourself a cup of tea.
Because—
Life isn't just about solving problems.
It's also about living.
If you've read “ Haneda, 5 o'clock, Our Promise to Meet Again ,”
or any of my essays,
whether it's about someone from the world of Kozaka Hana,
or simply a sentence that stayed with you,
even the smallest thought would mean a great deal to me.
Whether through a comment or a message,
I'd be happy to hear from you.
There's no hurry.
Whenever you're ready.
Shall we take a little walk through these words together?
About the Author
Kozaka Hana (小粋花) is my pen name.
Thank you for stepping into the world of Kozaka Hana.
#Writing#Essay
18.8M Followers 69 FollowingApple CEO Auburn 🏀 🏈 Duke 🏀 National Parks 🏞️ “Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'” - MLK. he/him
1.6M Followers 178 FollowingNobel Laureate. Co-Founder & CEO @GoogleDeepMind - working on AGI. Solving disease @IsomorphicLabs. Trying to understand the fundamental nature of reality.
4.4M Followers 126 Following@GM Chair and CEO leading an outstanding team with the ambition, talent and technology to create a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion.