Today I want to write about the book "The Greatest Legacy" by Kanzo Uchimura (March 26, 1861 – March 28, 1930). He is a Japanese Christian religious leader, writer, and thinker during the Meiji era, Taisho era, and early Showa era. This book describes the things humankind can leave behind in this world after their death. So this book helps us think about how to live better. I read this book several years ago. But I often remember the contents which this book wrote about.
At first, please think about this question before getting to the main point of this book.
"What is the purpose of your life?"
Could you answer this simple question? I think it's not easy to answer this question. But now I have my answer to this question in my way. How about you? If you don't have your answer, don't worry. Today might change the direction of your life to proceed. I believe this book helps you think about the answer to this question. Okay. Let's dive into the main contents of this book.
In this book, he enumerates these four things as legacies which humankind can leave behind to the next generation.
Money
Business
Thought
Art of Living
This way of thinking is so clear and straightforward. And it's easy to understand. He talks about these four things by quoting some episodes and examples. Here I won't explain each of them. If you interested in the contents, please check out his book.
When I read this book, I thought about my favorite artists. For example, Michael Jackson left behind his business, thought, and art of living. So the film of moonwalk performed at Motown 25th anniversary concert inspired me a lot still now. His Super Bowl performance in 1993, too. And a lot of passages of his autobiography "Moonwalk" encourages me every moment after his death. I want to write about Michael Jackson and his book "Moonwalk" in the near future, too. And Walt Disney left behind all of them, also. Every time Disney's new film covers Japanese film theaters, I feel as if he is living somewhere else now. And some books written about him and his words saved me many many times.
Coco Chanel left behind CHANEL to the world. I don't buy CHANEL's cloth. But her thought and her style, her art of living give me courage and strength to go on. And you can find CHANEL shops around the world, and you can enjoy her world though she had already died. I wrote about her before. If you're interested in her, please check out these articles. "About COCO CHANEL 1/2", "About COCO CHANEL 2/2".
I respect my favorite Japanese writer, poet, illustrator, and lyricist Takashi Yanase. He is best known as the creator of the picture book and anime series Anpanman. I've never seen Japanese boys and girls who never know Anpanman. His way of living encourages me a lot. So I often read his book again and again. I want to write about him and his book soon, too. Japanese novelist Osamu Dazai left behind essential things to me, also. When I was born, he'd already died. But I read almost all his works, and I felt like as if I talked with him.
The list is endless. So I stop here today. Now it's your turn.
“What do you want to leave behind after your death?”
Money? Business? Thought? Or the art of living? Or all of them? Well, to think about this subject helps you to think about the answer to the question of the beginning.
"What is the purpose of your life?"
Thanks for your reading. I hope you'll enjoy this. Feel free to leave me a comment.
