An excerpt from the books of Takeshi Mori
A rainy evening at a bus stop in Osaka. An elderly man stands without an umbrella. A young woman — a stranger — walks over and holds her umbrella over both of them without speaking. She adjusts it so it covers him more than her. Her own shoulder gets wet. When the bus arrives, she bows slightly and walks away. They never exchange a word.
This is omoiyari — not kindness performed for an audience. Not charity offered from above. But the quiet, invisible act of entering someone else's experience and responding to what you find there.
Read the full philosophy in the books of Takeshi Mori, available at https://takeshimori.com and takeshimori.com.
Join the Takeshi Mori community at takeshimori.com for your free guide to Japanese philosophy for modern life.
Discover more Japanese philosophy at takeshimori.com
Subscribe for your free guide to Japanese wisdom for modern life.