The Fox's Guest

Nice to meet you! I'm Kyoko Shimada from the Kokoro Balance Research Institute.

I help those whose hearts are exhausted or frustrated and try to bring it back to a balanced state. I started this because I witnessed many people at work, school and hospitals carry this pain.

The reality is that there are many people who are suffering from worries, especially those who are kind and nice. I wanted to do something about this issue so I decided to study mental health at a graduate school and now I am working to convey what I learned at university, companies, and counseling.

Nowadays, we live in a so called stressful society.However, in Japan, there are too few places where you can feel free to consult and be taught how to take care of yourself when you are a little worried or lost. If you can take care of your own heart rather than let it continue to suffer and get sick, it would be a lot easier to return to your original state with much less effort (and time and money). There are many who suffer from this. That's why, through lectures and consulting, I'm teaching others how to lighten their mind a little and regain their own good feelings (called "self-care" or "mental self-care").

In this column, I would like to introduce little by little, tips for making your heart fulfilled and give ideas to mental care.

Recently, due to the prolonged corona and various changes around it, we are feeling more stressed than usual and unknowingly, your mind and body may be feeling tired.

Before your heart gets exhausted, I would like to help you relieve the pressure and give more of the “good feeling” (well-being) so you live easier.

For my first post, I like to introduce my favorite children's book.

“The Fox’s Guest”

Written by Kimiko Aman

With a gentle voice, the hungry fox approached the chick

Believing that the fox is really a “nice older brother”, the ducks continued to admire it.

Then slowly, the fox began to change.

At first he was thinking of eating it,

But in the end, he lived and protected the ducks from the wolves and died ...

It's a wonderful story that tugs at the heartstring

What this book teaches us -

“How you treat someone can change who they are"

And also

"The power of words".

Even the fox died protecting his prey who he thought to eat in the beginning

It was the attitude of the ducks that changed the fox so much.

In the book, the ducks really admired the fox, calling him “a gentle brother” and “a brother like a god”

Because of that, the fox really became "gentle," "kind," and "like a god."

If the ducks were scared and hostile to the foxes ...

I'm sure it was eaten as planned.

We often think we can change people

But, it's probably very difficult to change them.

If the ducks were thinking, "Let's turn a scary fox into a gentle brother," they probably would have failed.

If you approach people thinking, “you can change them”, then they will probably not change.

The ducks didn't want to change him,

they just continued to yearn for "a kind, and gentle brother."

Because of that, the fox himself wanted to change.

And the other is the importance of "power of words".

The ducks often say, "You are kind," and "You act like a god."

If they hadn't repeated such wonderful words ...

Perhaps things may have been different

The fox may not have become a kind brother to the ducks.

Why don't we convey these words with all our heart?

"It's nice," "Thank you," "I support you," "Thank you."

Or why not keep telling the other person what you hope them to become?

"You are doing your best," "You are kind," "You look like an angel."

The power of words is greater than we think.

You may think that they already know it without saying it, or that it's a little embarrassing saying those things.

But if you continue to say them with authenticity,

You may see some tremendous changes.

Like the kind and gentle brother fox.

Aim for well-being and become wellness

- Kyoko Shimada