A while back, a boss I knew said something...
His company was going through some tough times..
So he couldn't get approvals from other companies.
He said he was getting daily calls for approval requests and it was driving him crazy..
One day, he went to a restaurant for lunch..
Instead of going into a room, he ate in the hallway..
He said that every time he heard the restaurant door open, he would turn his head to see who was coming in..
Just in case..
It wasn't someone from a company he hadn't gotten approval from..
He wondered how embarrassing it would be if he ran into them at the restaurant and begged for an approval.
That's what he thought.
When I go drinking with people from church..
Not everyone is like this, but..
I always go into a room or sit in a corner.
Just in case I run into someone from the same church..
I'll light a cigarette and hide it under the table..
There are quite a few people who do that.
Even though I went to church..
I never really cared about that kind of thing.
I just go to church for the service and then go home. I don't know many people there, and even if I did..
There are so many bad people in the world.
If I get criticized for having a drink and smoking a cigarette..
I think it's better to just leave that community.
I like billiards, so I used to go to billiard halls often..
When I go with some people, they say "I don't want to go to this billiard hall. Let's go to a different one."
So I ask them nicely, "Why?"
And they say that a lot of people from the companies they work for come here and they don't want to see them.
I don't really understand it, but..
We go to a different billiard hall.
But I don't care at all.
Whether they are my boss or not, when I'm working, they are my boss. When I'm playing, they are also my boss.
I just casually bow my head and play.
I don't care at all.
Some people even say things like "Why do you keep bowing to them?"..
They ask me why I don't act more arrogant towards them.
No.. We came to the billiard hall separately, not together.
If someone kept talking to me when they were supposed to be playing with someone else, it would annoy me.
But some people actually enjoy that kind of thing.
Fortunately, I'm employed and haven't had any problems getting approvals..
I get paid on time, so I've never taken money from anyone.
I went to church, but I don't think drinking is a big sin, so I don't have to worry about what other people think.
Since I don't act that way towards my boss, I can just be myself when I meet them outside of work.
Not everyone in the world is like that, but sometimes you see people living like they are in prison without bars..
But when you ask them, most of them don't even realize they are living like that.
They think everyone else lives that way too.
Every time I see those people, a word comes to mind...
Freedom.
Even though I'm tied down by my job..
And my family..
I want to enjoy as much freedom as possible.
As we go through life, maybe we should think about whether we are building our own cages without realizing it..
When I go to the barber shop, I can't sit still for more than 10 minutes with a towel over my head.
That's why I don't get haircuts very often.
I might have a phobia..
But..
I want to say "freedom."
You can see it, right?
