Discovering the Flow of Trust: Episode 2
- 2025.01.28
- Discovering the Flow of Trust Reflect

A Question to Myself
“Hello, how’s it going?”
The moment I heard her voice, a sense of relief washed over me. Her tone was casual and light, yet it carried an inexplicable warmth that always calmed my heart.
“How’s work? Going smoothly?”
Her simple question seemed to unlock a flood of emotions within me.
“Honestly, things are a complete mess right now…”
The schedule was falling behind, the team’s anxiety was building, the project manager’s vague instructions were adding to the confusion, and on top of it all, the client was being unreasonably demanding. Once I started talking, I couldn’t stop. I surprised even myself with how much frustration I was pouring out.
As I spoke, I realized I wasn’t entirely blaming others. Thoughts like, “But maybe…” kept surfacing, prompting me to add small justifications here and there. But even those felt swept away by the torrent of complaints.
She didn’t judge or sympathize overtly; she simply listened and responded with gentle acknowledgments. Somehow, that only encouraged me to keep talking.
“I just don’t know what to do anymore…”
I paused to sip some coffee, the warmth soothing my throat as I finally stopped speaking. That’s when she broke her silence.
“It sounds really tough. I can totally understand that feeling of being stuck with no clear answers.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
Her empathy reached deep into my heart. But then, her next words caught me off guard.
“I don’t mean to sound careless, but I think everyone’s probably doing the best they can. Oh, and I’m not blaming you at all.”
“I know you’re not. But yeah, it’s just hard to see it that way right now…”
“True, I get that. But, you know, I think maybe you could be a little kinder to yourself.”
“What? Kinder to myself?”
“Yeah. While listening to you, it kind of sounded like you were blaming yourself, even though you were talking about others.”
Her words made my mind go blank for a moment.
Every now and then, she’d say something completely unexpected—something that felt like it came from a perspective I’d never even considered. It always left me feeling caught off guard. And often, I’d later realize her words had been the key to solving whatever problem I was facing.
Was this another one of those moments? I wasn’t sure yet, but her words lingered in my mind.
“Really? I don’t think I was blaming myself…”
I gave a vague response, unable to come up with anything more articulate. Even so, I felt her words softly resonate in the back of my mind.
The conversation continued, mostly filled with my complaints, until eventually, we reached the usual point where we’d decide to call it a night.
I put down the phone and sank into the couch.
“Blaming myself, huh…”
I replayed her words in my mind as I got up to partially draw back the curtains. Outside, the night sky was painted with a bright orange moon hanging above the horizon.
It felt as though the moon was gazing quietly into my heart.
As I stood there, lost in thought, I found myself drawn to the phone on my desk.
At that very moment—
Chime
A clear, bell-like sound echoed softly in the room.
Picking up my phone, I saw a new message from Okane-san.
“Okane-san: To truly trust others, you must first learn to trust yourself.”
Her words from earlier—“You should be kinder to yourself”—seemed to align perfectly with this message.
Something within me clicked.
Before I knew it, I was typing out a reply, my fingers moving almost instinctively.
To be continued in Chapter 3: “A Guide to True Trust”
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Discovering the Flow of Trust: Episode 1 2025.01.27
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Discovering the Flow of Trust: Episode 3 2025.01.29