Shinzou Keigo, Hirayasumi, Chapter 15 “On a typhoon night”
- “It’s because we live in a world where not succeeding is the same as losing.”
- “That’s why I quit.”
- When you’re back home, your true feelings come out easily.
- “For me … that kind of world … didn’t make any sense …”
To add to your nice post, I’ll share a poem by Xu Lizhi before he unfortunately decided leave this world, it is called “I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That” (here’s the source). I think it expresses why a world free from stress and anxiety is needed:
I Fall Asleep, Just Standing Like That
眼前的纸张微微发黄 The paper before my eyes fades yellow
我用钢笔在上面凿下深浅不一的黑 With a steel pen I chisel on it uneven black
里面盛满打工的词汇 Full of working words
车间,流水线,机台,上岗证,加班,薪水…… Workshop, assembly line, machine, work card, overtime, wages…
我被它们治得服服贴贴 They’ve trained me to become docile
我不会呐喊,不会反抗 Don’t know how to shout or rebel
不会控诉,不会埋怨 How to complain or denounce
只默默地承受着疲惫 Only how to silently suffer exhaustion
驻足时光之初 When I first set foot in this place
我只盼望每月十号那张灰色的薪资单 I hoped only for that grey pay slip on the tenth of each month
赐我以迟到的安慰 To grant me some belated solace
为此我必须磨去棱角,磨去语言 For this I had to grind away my corners, grind away my words
拒绝旷工,拒绝病假,拒绝事假 Refuse to skip work, refuse sick leave, refuse leave for private reasons
拒绝迟到,拒绝早退 Refuse to be late, refuse to leave early
流水线旁我站立如铁,双手如飞 By the assembly line I stood straight like iron, hands like flight,
多少白天,多少黑夜 How many days, how many nights
我就那样,站着入睡 Did I - just like that - standing fall asleep?