Greetings, little princes and princesses!

Did you remember to bring your joyful smile to our gathering today?
And remember to greet your friends sitting beside you. Say hello, and greet them with your smile.

Thinking back to the autumn of 2004 where I was walking on a street in Tokyo. I could still remember seeing two little kids with yellow caps walking to my direction. They were holding hands and walking with a bright smile on their face. They would greet the people they see on the street and said “Konichiwa!(Morning!)” Not long after that, I saw another kid with the same cap, same smile, and same greeting. At the end I found out that they were all rushing to their choir practice as they were members of SGI Tokyo JD Rainbow Choir Group.

I felt so delighted when I saw their smile, and I thought: Happy children should have active and cheerful spirit like this. President Ikeda said: “To let the heart face towards the sun, and to chase difficulties away with laughter – such a positive and cheerful faith will change our lives, and will become a motivating force that brings victory.” We must think positively and be vigorous no matter what we might encounter. To be a person who can bring joy and happiness will make you a happy person as you bring hope to others in the same time. To live with optimism – it may seem easy, but it is a thing that requires strong endurance. If you’re not strong, then you would not have that unchanged smile of yours.

Many of you might think that you are considered smart when you’ve done your homework well, but that’s not all. President Ikeda said: “Smart, is defined as knowing how to question, never despair, and never giving up.” We should never keep an eye on the others and check if they’re smarter than us. Being clever or not does not matter. What matters most, is to be able to help, to contribute, and to serve other people.

World known physicist, Albert Einstein is a great example. When he was small, his intelligence development was slow compared to other kids. Learning to speak seemed to be a little difficult for him. He only starts speaking when he was 3. When he was 4, his father gave him a compass as a gift. Einstein was always curious of new things, and so he kept on playing with the compass. There’s a little red needle in the compass that kept pointing to North. Einstein wished to change the needle’s direction, he turned almost every direction he could, but still the needle pointed to North. He was so troubled that he went to ask his father, but all his father said was “It can keep pointing to the North because there is something beside the needle that was pushing it.” Hence he kept on investigating the compass and wanted to find out what was its mystery. So this childhood mystery got soaked into his mind, being unable to be expelled out of his mind. Maybe it was because of this mystery that has got him so interested in investigating and inventing electronics product.

Under certain consequences, a mystical object could have spiced up someone’s mind or thinking. Perhaps it was his interest to the nature’s mystery that has been his motivation force in exploring more about science. Continuously, he thought and explored. It is this persistence that has created a genius.

In other words, Einstein had found and fulfilled his mission. We are all the same. Everyone has a mission that only he/she could accomplish. There must be someone who needs your aid; there must be something that only you could do, and the things that you truly wanted to do. We must first face the reality in order to find our mission. We must train ourselves up to be strong. No matter if it’s a step or two, or even being in a tough situation, we must keep moving forward.

Work hard for a lifetime! Learn for a lifetime! – This is what the future leaders must equip with themselves, and it is what President Ikeda expects from us!

Lastly, I hope you all could stay healthy and live everyday safely and happily. Please love your parents! You must all stride forward with hope, courage, and shine brightly!

Thank you!

Vice Boy’s Div. Chief, Foo Keh Chong.

Labels: f. thoughts of chief