Wouldn’t it be great if our weaknesses turn out to be a strength?

My weakness is that I am a 三日坊主 MIKKA BOUZU ( a 3 day monk / someone who soon tires of things).

That’s partly why my flat is full of half-read books.

I picked up one of them this morning: 頭がよくなる四字熟語力　ATAMA GA YOKU NARU YOJI JUKUGO-RYOKU (The power of 4 character compounds to make you cleverer) by Saito Takashi.

I bought the book in Tokyo 10 years ago for 二百円 NI-HYAKU-EN (200 yen).

The title attracted me : 頭がよくなる ATAMA GA YOKU NARU (get cleverer / literally, head gets better).

For a short time, about 3 days I’d say, I believed I could learn lots of new kanji and get cleverer.

10 years later, this plan hasn’t really worked out. I think I was scared of the thick clusters of kanji that cover every page.

四字熟語 YOJI JUKUGO (4 kanji character compounds) are hard going.

Many 四字熟語 YOJI JUKUGO (4 kanji character compounds) are idioms translated from the original Chinese.

They are difficult for anyone to understand, even for native Japanese. Even if you can read the 4 kanji characters, you may not understand the meaning.

The Japanese-origin 4 character compounds are easier to work out. One of the more famous (with it’s own wikipedia page) is 一期一会 ICHIGO ICHIE.

Commonly seen on souvenir items, ICHIGO ICHIE means ‘for this time only / never again’. Every Japan Club event is it’s own 一期一会 ICHIGO ICHIE.

Saito gives his interpretation of another Japanese origin compound, and my favourite: 三日坊主 MIKKA BOUZU (the 3 day monk).

The expression could explain why Japan only adopted Buddhism half-heartedly. Perhaps they got bored of it?

Anyway, Saito says this desire to try new things can ‘become a strength’ 力になる CHIKARA NI NARU.

This strength is called 三日坊主力 MIKKA BOUZU-RYOKU (the power of being a 3 day monk /

So thoughts such as あれをやってみたい ARE O YATTE MITAI (I want to give that a try) could be a positive.

I must confess here my ‘inner- 3 day monk’ seeks mental rather than physical adventures.

I am more likely to think: あれをよんでみたい ARE O YONDE MITAI (I want to read that to see what it’s like).

Saito says we can find out more about what our own likes and dislikes by being a bit MIKKA BOUZU. The important thing is to do it properly, even if only for 3 days.

He finishes by saying: たのしい人生経験をつんでください。TANOSHII JINSEI KEIKEN O TSUNDE KUDASAI (Pile up lots of enjoyable life experiences).

It’s an inspiring message.

I will keep dipping into the book for more wisdom like this. At least until Friday anyway.