Yes, Japanese proverb-themed blog costs continue! "Mizu ni nagasu" literally means "let water flow," but it means the same as "water under the bridge" in English, which if you haven't encountered an idiom-master or idiommaster-wannabe like myself means "forgive and forget." It's a pretty powerful phrase, as often I get really upset about something and feel contempt or jealousy or all kinds of negative feelings towards a person, but after time passes and I look back upon it with some perspective, it feels trivial in the whole realm of things. I'm not one to hold a grudge, and I usually realize that life only moves forward, and the best way to live life is to forget what happened before (within reason, of course, and remembering to learn from one's mistakes) and move forward. I'm also a very sensitive person, so I need to not dwell too much on perceived slights or injustices that occurred in the past and focus on more important things like if someone meant well, or if generally they've been fair.
Top Five things to Mizu ni nagasu (not quibble about) :
1.) Who paid for a meal- it usually cancels out anyway and if you value that person as a friend, even just paying extra once in a while could be a sign of being a good friend.
2.) calls in dodgeball/ other sports- infuriating during a game (whether watching your favorite sports team or playing your favorite team) if a call doesn't go one's way or someone gained an unfair advantage somehow, but honestly in most sports there's enough gameplay to negate the minor discrepancies, even though small calls might get magnified in the moment. I've been super angry about things that occur in dodgeball games, only to have those things seem trivial and irrelevant a week later and me feel embarrassed that I even complained about it.
3.) slip of the tongues- I always try to watch what I say, but it's exhausting being careful not to step on other people's toes 24/7, being politically correct, not offending everybody. It's a lot of work and sometimes even the most careful prevention can't stop getting upset at some momentarily, or mispronouncing someone's name, or calling someone a name, or sarcastically bringing up something that's been nagging. Try to let those go.
4.) Bragging- I don't like when people brag about their fantasy teams, about themselves, and especially if they brag that they're better than me, but I do it myself quite often and it's a way to give oneself some identity, to feel good about onself and it's only human nature to boast about oneself once in awhile (especially in interview settings where we're trained to do just that). And hey, sometimes people ARE actually better than i am.
5.) Social Media- facebook or twitter. People are different on the internet and take on different personalities (except me, I'm totally myself on this blog). Unless they're attacking you in front of others and purposely defaming you (there's something called lawyers to take care of that), it's best to take "trolling" or snarky facebook posts with a grain of salt, at all times.
There are so many things in this world to get upset or angry about. Poverty, world wars, the environment, death, the Iran nuclear deal, apathy, homophobia, lack of natural resources, those are things to get upset about. Don't let little quibbles take up too much of your attention. Mizu ni nagasou yo!
Regards,
Robert Yan
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