Take a Sad Song and Make It Better ― Moving Forward Little by Little While Carrying Sadness ― Tuesday, August 4, 2026 (Reiwa 8)

Today, the Beatles’ song “Hey Jude” was played many times in the dining hall.

It was a song I had heard many times before, but for some reason, it stayed deeply in my heart today.

“Take a sad song and make it better.”

Let’s take a sad song and turn it into something a little better.

These words touched my heart today.

There was a time when I thought “Hey Jude” was a love song.  
However, it was actually written by Paul McCartney as a song of encouragement for Julian, the son of John Lennon, who was hurt by his parents’ divorce.

We cannot erase sadness.

But while carrying that sadness, we can use our own strength to slowly change our lives in a better direction.

I believe that is the message of this song.

Today was the day of the funeral for a close friend of mine.

He passed away at the young age of 66.

My husband went to the funeral hall and said his final farewell.

I heard that my friend himself had wanted a large funeral.

His family fulfilled his wish and was able to send him off with a meaningful ceremony.

I believe he was someone who lived his life in his own way until the very end.

At the same time, I am now facing the pain in my own body.

It will soon be two months since my surgery on June 25.

Recently, people around me have started saying:

“Your left hand is moving better now.”
“You are getting better.”

But I know my own condition.

My arm still does not rise the way I want it to.

I am still continuing rehabilitation.

There is still pain.

There are still many things I cannot do.

Sometimes, even explaining my condition feels exhausting.

Actually, I wanted to participate in the Bon Odori dance practice today.

But with my current left arm, I cannot move the way I would like.

“I suppose this year just cannot be helped.”

Thinking that, I stayed in my room.

In the past, I might have focused only on the things I could not do.

But today, after listening to “Hey Jude,” I thought:

Maybe I can change this situation, even if only little by little, in a better direction.

Maybe the time until my arm fully recovers can also become a time to look deeply at myself.

In life, there are sadness and hardships that we cannot choose.

Today, I talked with my husband about my friend’s life.

My friend went through many struggles, started companies, and eventually built them into large businesses.

He listened to his family’s wishes, built a large home, and especially valued the kitchen that his wife wanted.

From the outside, there may have been moments when he appeared like a “king.”

However, he was also someone who listened to his family and turned their dreams into reality.

When I look back on my own life with my husband, I realize that I eventually stopped expecting certain things from him and tried to build my own life by myself.

I wanted him to listen to me more.

I wanted him to understand my feelings more.

There were times when I felt that way.

But today, I realized that life is not something to compare.

Everyone has hardships that belong only to them.

Even a life that looks successful may contain invisible struggles.

Even an ordinary-looking life may contain pain that only that person knows.

That is why we cannot easily judge another person’s life.

My friend’s departure.

The pain in my shoulder.

The differences between husband and wife.

Today was a day when I thought deeply about many things.

And the words that remained in my heart were:

“Take a sad song and make it better.”

We cannot make sadness disappear.

But we can find small hopes within it.

I do not know what I will be told at the hospital tomorrow.

But while facing my own body, I want to continue moving forward little by little.

To create a new version of myself.


#HeyJude  
#TheBeatles  
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#TurningPointsInLife  
#FarewellToAFriend  
#InMemoryOfAFriend  
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#MovingForward  
#ANewBeginning  
#ShoulderRehabilitation  
#RecoveryAfterAFracture  
#FacingPain  
#SmallStepsForward  
#ChallengeTowardTheFuture