In 2023, I Thought A Lot About the Meaning of Life
（日本語版あり）
Below is the letter that I enclosed in this year’s Christmas cards.
I hope this letter find you well.
This past spring, my maternal grandfather died at the age of 103. I thought about writing about him and his incredible life, but I have great difficulty dealing and thinking about death. Because of that, instead of writing about my thoughts on my grandfather’s death, I decided to write about my thoughts on my own life.
I’ve come to learn that I’ve been blessed with a high sense of curiosity that’s led me to a wide range of interests. My hobbies include writing blogs, reading novels, watching movies and learning about airplane accidents, while also being interested in football, investing, law, politics and education. In the past, I was into creating the family tree and finishing grand puzzles, while recently, I’ve gotten into a little bit of cooking.
The more I do and the more I discover, the more I become fascinated with life. For me, life is, above all, a source of enjoyment. Maybe the reason I despair thinking about death so much is because, if only there was no death, the joy will last forever.
I think, though, that it’s also important to live life meaningfully.
I try to measure the meaning of life through the difference I make in the world, however small. The only time I really think about death is when I contemplate whether, after death, those who survive me would have been glad that Joe was born into this world. I’d like to think that, at least in terms of my job, I’m on the right path with the work I do in contributing to the acceleration of digital transformation throughout all of Japanese society.
There are so many ways to make a difference, but ideally, I do so by leveraging the uniqueness I have to offer. I have the advantage of having a law degree as well as having grown up and worked in both the U.S. and Japan. Friends and colleagues have told me that my wealth of irreverent knowledge and my chatty conversational skills may also be talent.
I’m not entirely confident my life leverages all that. But I think what’s important is to keep on looking for that life, by always taking on new challenges and engaging in continuous self-reflection. There’s a line I like from a famous Japanese manga, “If you give up, it’s game over.” Of all the things to not give up on, it seems the most important is to not give up on looking for my unique role in the world that’s sure to exist.
In 2023, I thought a lot about life after the death of my grandfather, and I played shogi (Japanese chess) to take my mind off of death (without getting any better). In 2024, I hope to be self-reflective in a more forward-looking way.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
