Jasmine is a cute girl. Those who know her adore her. The people often say “You’re so adorable and kind.” However, she wasn’t satisfied of herself and had a low self-esteem.

“I’m not as pretty as Rose.” sighed Jasmine.
“No way! You’re adorable.” replied Rose.

Jasmine thought the she’s too rough. “But I’m not as elegant as Lily.”
Then Lily replied “No, you’re elegant enough.” Lily began to think of ways to build up Jasmine’s confidence.

Jasmine wished to be as clever as Lotus, so she said “Well, I’m not as witty as Lotus.”
Lotus quickly patted Jasmine’s shoulder and said “No, you’re kind and clever indeed.”

As Jasmine compared herself with her friends, she felt worse. Everyone liked her and consoled her, but she couldn’t have the confidence to accept it.

“We couldn’t let this go on, we must help her.” Her friends were all worrying about her. They’ve asked for an intelligent old lady’s help. The old lady replied “Children, please bring her to me and say that I invited her.”

But Jasmine were nervous “No, I’d too afraid to see that old lady…”
“But you must go, it’s a chance for you to know yourself again.” said her friends.

Having no other choice, Jasmine headed over to the old lady’s house.

“Hi there cute little princess. Come here, have a seat and tell me what this is.” The old lady smiled warmly and it calmed Jasmine for a little.

“These are corals, madam.”
“Very good. Next, could you tell me what is this?” The old lady then took out another item.
“It’s pearl, madam.”
“Very good. Now tell me, which one of it is more beautiful?”

Jasmine replied “Corals and pearls are two different things. How could I compared them?”
The old lady laughed and said “Very well my dear princess. Coral and pearl is different. So you, are just you. Why should you compare yourself with other people?”



Postscript:

“Comparison” is easily spotted among friends. Naturally, those who aren’t confident enough would have a low self-esteem. No matter how much your friends might praise you, you’d never realize they were true. This is not only for kids, adults act the same way too.

But how did that wise old lady in the story consoled that little girl?

The answer lies beneath encouragement. Isn’t it what we should do as the JD PICs? Wisdom, is to allow the children to realize and be enlightened on their own. They could truly accept the fact through this way. Perhaps just a short story or guidance would have gathered all their confidence.

The little girl would fear to meet the old lady just as the children not daring to get close to the aunts. Perhaps some of the aunts would lose their confidence either. However, from the story, it seems that a warm smile is able of breaking all these walls between the people.

We might think that it is much easier for them to communicate as Youth Divisions’ age are closer to the Junior Divisions. However, the aunts often provide the children a sense of secure. If only the aunts could believe in their spirit of loving, nurturing, and passion, I’m sure the children would easily accept you.

What’s important, is that you’re all doing your best to make an improvement. So don’t worry about the distance between you and the children. When you get closer to the children, you could even feel younger! Plus, we have numerous guidance from Ikeda Sensei! As we put Sensei’s guidance into action, we’re able of enlightening and encouraging our children.

The Youths would like to work together with the WDs. It is our weak point for not being sensitive as the WDs do. But our creativity and the WDs’ sensitive heart, we could learn together in every situation to explore more about our children, helping them achieving growth and advancement.

No matter if it’s Jasmine, Lily or Rose, as the Gosho teaches “Cherry, plum, peach and damson blossoms all have their own qualities.” Everyone is special. Let’s exchange our true hearts with the children and explore more about each other. This way, we could build up their confident as well.

Ikeda Sensei once said “Our life is for the utmost exertion of our character. It is a flower that enjoys blossoming.”

Perhaps we’d only realize certain character of ourselves through Junior Division’s activities. Hence, we must continuously play our role and accomplish our mission in Junior Division. Let us spend our life on giving the best of ourselves. Let’s persist on our footsteps, for the future of kosen-rufu. March forward with full confidence!

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