Bacura KYOTO Lab

In the “Lazy-Aging” way of thinking, we sometimes compare life to a ship.

The size of your ship represents the size of your possibilities in life. When you’re young, you have a big cruise ship that can sail across all seven seas. As you get older, the ship gradually gets smaller. In the end, it reaches land and the journey is over.

By the way, if you’re still a minor, you don’t have your own ship yet. You ride on your parents’ ship and learn how to handle one. Once you become an adult, you finally become the captain of your own ship and take full responsibility for steering your life.

In this metaphor, what does a nutritionist become? The answer is: the lookout clinging to the top of the mast, peering through a telescope. Their job is to watch ahead and report back to the captain: “Is it safe to keep going this way? Are there any obstacles? Is there a better route to avoid danger?”

That’s all they do. The captain knows their own ship best, so of course the final decision always belongs to the captain. However, when it comes to seeing far into the distance, the lookout can see much better than the captain.

In real sailing, you always have a destination you want to reach. In life too — for example with work — you usually can’t just say, “There’s an obstacle, so let’s cancel everything and turn back.” You have to skillfully steer the ship around the problems. That’s exactly when the lookout’s information becomes extremely valuable.

People often find nutritionists’ advice annoying and tend to ignore it, but this is why it’s worth listening to.

If a captain only realizes what happened after crashing into an iceberg, they will keep losing bigger and bigger ships. Their ship gets smaller and smaller, and eventually they can no longer sail far out into the ocean.

Of course, even a small ship has its own kind of enjoyment, so it doesn’t mean your life is over. But… when you see people your own age still sailing large, impressive ships, can you really stay calm and peaceful inside?