Please, sit down for a moment, have a cup of tea, and listen to my story.
I promise I will not waste your time.
No matter how tired you are today, or how dry your heart feels, let me share a story that will gently soak into your soul.
It may sound sudden, but are you satisfied with your life right now?
Why is it that, even though we live as hard as we can every single day, there are moments when we suddenly feel so lonely?
The great artist Joan Miró gives us a hint to the answer.
Have you ever seen Miró’s paintings?
They are free-spirited pictures where birds, stars, and mysteriously shaped creatures seem to be dancing on the canvas.
But you see, that is by no means just a “carefree scribble.”
Miró took the purest and loneliest parts of the human heart, transformed them into those cute shapes, and delivered them to you.
In other words, Miró’s art exists simply to stand quietly by your side in your everyday life.
“The Seen and the Unseen”
— Frédéric Bastiat
Don’t you think these words by Bastiat represent Miró’s paintings themselves, and your very life?
Every day, we tend to focus only on the “seen” things in front of us—like work documents, bank balances, or the cold stares of others.
However, what truly matters is the “unseen”—the passion and the yet-unseen possibilities hidden inside your heart.
Miró used his paints to pull those invisible treasures out right in front of your eyes.
That is why knowing Miró’s words and lifestyle can become a powerful medicine that completely changes your life starting tomorrow.
After all, you too are a wonderful artist, painting your own unique life on your own canvas.
Now, let us embark together on a journey into Miró’s mind.
Why Joan Miró Kept Painting Even When Called an “Eccentric”
Tell me, if people around you said, “You’re a bit strange,” would you feel hurt?
Or would you feel happy?
When Joan Miró was young, he was truly misunderstood by everyone around him.
Born into a strict family in Barcelona, he was forced to go to a commercial school and work as an ordinary clerk.
But he hated it so much that he became emotionally overwhelmed and eventually fell ill.
Why did he want to paint so badly?
It was because he instinctively knew that painting was the only way to save his soul.
While recuperating in his rural hometown of Mont-roig, he spent his time staring at the ground, touching the soil, and listening to the voice of nature.
The people around him rumored, “He has gone mad.”
Yet, Miró never gave up.
“I only blush at my own lack of ability and talent.”
— Matsuo Basho
Miró must have muttered these words of Basho somewhere in his heart.
He possessed no talent for navigating the world cleverly.
He could only clumsily keep painting the nature before him and the world reflected in his mind.
The true strength of a human being begins the moment they accept their own “helplessness.”
Don’t you have nights where you fall into despair, thinking, “Why am I so useless?” at work or in relationships?
But that is perfectly fine.
That feeling of helplessness is the starting point of the great energy that will push you to the next stage.
Miró did not try to hide his clumsiness; instead, he turned it into his greatest weapon.
That is why his paintings pierce through to the essence of humanity, remaining vibrant even after hundreds of years.
Miró’s Astonishing Alchemy that Turns Your Loneliness into Gold
Let me tell you a little secret.
Have you felt an intense sense of loneliness recently?
That lonely sensation of being detached from everything, even when you are surrounded by a crowd of people.
In fact, Joan Miró was a man who fought against—or rather, loved—that “loneliness” throughout his entire life.
Even after moving to Paris and interacting with celebrities like Hemingway, he remained a fundamentally quiet man who silently shut himself away in his studio.
Why did he seek loneliness so much?
It is because human beings can only encounter their true inner voice—their “truth”—when they are completely alone.
For Miró, loneliness was not a miserable thing; it was a fertile ground for giving birth to beautiful stars and birds.
“Skin in the game.”
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb
This phrase by Taleb demands an incredible amount of resolve from those of us living in the modern world, doesn’t it?
Miró was truly cutting into his own “skin”—his very life—without hesitation to paint his pictures.
Unlike critics who merely say grand things from safe places, Miró stayed true to his style even when his life was impoverished.
That is why his paintings possess a “genuine weight” that shakes the hearts of those who look at them.
If you are currently carrying some kind of risk in your life and enduring loneliness, you are walking the same path as Miró.
That loneliness will never be in vain.
It will surely become the essential nourishment for making your own beautiful flower bloom someday, so please believe in yourself.
The Specific Method to Turn Your Boring Daily Routine into Sublime Art
Tell me, do you ever feel that life is boring because it is just the same thing over and over again?
Waking up in the morning, riding a crowded train, doing routine work, and just going home to sleep.
Would you believe me if I told you there is a way to instantly transform your daily routine into Miró’s art studio?
Miró looked closely at even the smallest objects—a pebble dropped on the roadside, a torn piece of scrap paper, or even a single piece of string—and turned them into art.
Why was he able to do such a thing?
It was because he believed that an eternal life dwells behind all matter.
The old mug in front of you, or the worn-out ballpoint pen you use, can transform into a sacred tool signaling the beginning of the universe when viewed through Miró’s eyes.
“Most people think of success as something to get. But the truth is, success is giving.”
— Henry Ford
Look at these words by Ford; they sting a little, but don’t you think they represent a truly beautiful truth?
The reason Miró kept breathing life into the trivial things around him was out of a sincere service and an act of giving to the world, and to “you” who stand right in front of him.
We often tend to become spiritually poor by constantly trying to get something, to gain something.
Instead, why not start by “giving” your love to the people you meet today, or to the work right in front of you?
Even a momentary action, like wiping your desk clean, is enough.
If you put your heart into it, your daily routine will sublimate from a boring chore into a brilliant art form like Miró’s paintings.
Why Your “Failures” Are All Beautifully Calculated Directors’ Cuts
Have you ever made a huge mistake at work and felt your world turn completely dark?
I certainly have, many times.
However, once you learn how Joan Miró painted, your perspective on failure changes by 180 degrees.
When Miró faced a canvas, it is said that he would intentionally start by making a dirty stain or drawing random lines.
From there, he would stare closely at that “accidental stain,” converse with it, and guide it into a beautiful shape.
In other words, without that dirty stain made at the very beginning, those masterpieces would never have been born.
Why did Miró adopt such a seemingly risky method?
It was because he knew that human essential beauty is hidden within failures and accidents rather than in a perfectly controlled world.
“Fate leads the willing, and drags the unwilling.”
— Seneca
Just as Seneca says, the event we believe to be the “worst failure” might actually be the initial “stain” that fate uses to guide you in a wonderful direction.
The tears you cried in the past, your painful heartbreaks, and your setbacks at work are all beautifully calculated scenes designed to complete the grand masterpiece that is your life.
Therefore, when trouble arises, try to find the fun in it, thinking, “Oh, a Miró stain has appeared.”
How will you add beautiful stars and birds from there?
That is where your skill shines, and it is the true joy of living.
How to Build a Miró-Style “Indomitable Mental Strength” that Completely Silences Others’ Criticisms
Tell me, aren’t there nights when you cannot sleep out of sheer frustration because someone said heartless words to you?
Things like, “What you are doing is meaningless,” or “Face reality more.”
What do you think Joan Miró would do at a time like that?
He would just smile quietly and begin painting his next piece.
Miró once said:
“It will take 50, or maybe 100 years for my work to be understood. But I must paint now.”
Why was he able to become that strong?
It was because he never entrusted his self-worth to the “capricious words of others right in front of him.”
He lived within a much grander flow of time called history.
“Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.”
— Hypatia
Please use these powerful words of Hypatia as a shield for your heart.
It is thousands of times more valuable to charge ahead on the path you believe in, even if people say you are wrong, than to kill your own spirit just to match others’ opinions and become a person who does nothing.
The names of those who laughed at Miró’s paintings, calling them “children’s doodles,” are no longer found anywhere in history.
However, the name of Miró, who protected his intellect and kept painting while being laughed at, shines eternally.
You must not surrender even a single second of your precious life to the words of those who criticize you.
You only need to proudly and single-mindedly keep painting your own stars.
The Spark of Passion that Ignites Your Life, by Joan Miró
Now, our story is reaching its core.
Does a hot, magma-like passion lie asleep inside your heart, one that you haven’t shown to anyone yet?
Have you put out that fire, thinking, “What’s the point for someone like me?”
Joan Miró looked very gentle, gentlemanly, and quiet on the outside, but inside him swirled a fierce flame of passion.
Even in his later years, his creative urge never faded; instead, it grew more intense as he splashed paint onto massive canvases and smashed sculptures to create new shapes.
Why was he able to become increasingly youthful and radical as he aged?
It was because he was always staking his entire life on “this very moment.”
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
— St. Catherine of Siena
Don’t these words by St. Catherine give you goosebumps because they are so wonderful?
Miró truly set the art world—and the entire world—on fire by becoming the unique existence that was “Joan Miró.”
You don’t need to imitate anyone else either.
When you reclaim your true self and begin living your life in earnest, the world around you will change completely and become filled with a warm light.
The reason Miró’s paintings still make our hearts burn today is that the spark he kindled with his life leaps through the canvas and ignites our souls.
Come, why don’t you make the fire inside your own heart burn brightly once again?
Why We Hide Our True Selves Out of Fear of Getting Hurt
Tell me honestly, showing your true self to others is a very scary thing, isn’t it?
We worry about what to do if we are disliked, or what to do if we are mocked.
Even Joan Miró must have felt scared when exposing the messy parts of his inner world or the strange, ghost-like shapes to society.
Yet, he did not hide them.
Because he knew that living a life falsifying himself was far more terrifying than the death of his physical body.
Don’t those large “eyes” that appear in Miró’s paintings seem to gaze back at us gently yet sharply, as if asking, “Are you truly living honestly?”
“My poems are such that even the blind can read them, and even the deaf can hear them.”
— Al-Mutanabbi
Al-Mutanabbi, the greatest poet of the Arab world, believed in the power of his words to the absolute limit, and ultimately staked his life to avoid the dishonor of fleeing.
Miró’s art also transcends the barriers of language and borders; its brilliance is communicated directly even to children who cannot read.
Genuine expression is something that reaches the human soul directly.
If you are hesitating to convey your true feelings to someone, remember the strength of Miró and Al-Mutanabbi.
Even your clumsy words will surely reach the other person’s heart as long as they are spoken from the soul.
Why don’t we put an end to living in hiding today?
The “Message of Resurrection” that Miró’s Paintings Whisper to You at the Rock Bottom of Life
As long as we live, there are times when we are brought to the brink of deep despair, unable to stand up.
The loss of a loved one, the collapse of a career, or simply the suffering of living itself.
In times like those, I remember Joan Miró’s powerful works, such as Homage to a Friend.
The era Miró lived through was a particularly dark time in human history, marked by the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
His hometown was ravaged, and many of his friends lost their lives.
However, even in such a dark age, Miró never painted pictures of despair.
Why was he able to keep painting his beautiful Constellations series in the midst of darkness?
It was because he understood more deeply than anyone else that the deeper the night, the more brightly the stars shine.
“Man is a most unfaithful witness to himself.”
— Michel de Montaigne
Just as Montaigne says, when we are in despair, we tend to give false testimony about ourselves, thinking, “My life is over.”
But that is a lie.
In the deepest part of your soul, a small light always remains that can never be extinguished, no matter how fierce the storm.
Miró continued to express that light as vivid colors of red, yellow, and blue on his canvases.
There is an old saying: “There is no life in life, but life exists in death.”
The place you think is rock bottom is actually the best starting line for being reborn.
Miró’s paintings send you an encouragement over and over, tens of thousands of times, saying, “Don’t give up, crawl back up from there.”
Miró’s “Innocence”—The Strongest Weapon to Make Your Future Shine Brightest
As we grow into adults, we somehow forget our pure “innocence,” don’t we?
We constantly calculate profits and losses, and look only for the most efficient ways to live.
But you see, even past the age of 80 or 90, Joan Miró looked at the world with the innocent eyes of a five-year-old child.
His studio in his later years was overflowing with toys and doodles that looked like they were drawn by children.
Why did he care so much about the “heart of a child”?
It was because he knew that the world reveals its true, blinding beauty only when we remove all the colored glasses of knowledge and common sense.
The strongest weapon to make your life more fun and richer is not an advanced skill or vast wealth, but the pure curiosity inside your heart that says, “Ah, this is interesting.”
“Every man has his own talent.”
— William Shakespeare
Just as Shakespeare says, your own “innocent genius” is still locked inside you, waiting to be let out.
You have played the role of a serious adult for long enough just to please others.
Once in a while, try laughing out loud or immersing yourself in what you love, just like Miró splashing his emotions onto a canvas.
When you reclaim your innocence, all stress will vanish from your daily routine, and every day will turn into a sparkling adventure.
What Miró spent his entire life teaching us—it might simply be: “Love this world to the absolute limit, being yourself and remaining completely free.”
The night grows quietly late.
Outside the window, the stars that Miró loved are shining unchanged today.
If my clumsy story has reached your heart even a little bit, nothing could make me happier.
When you open your eyes tomorrow morning, I hope the world before you carries a slightly more vivid hue of Miró’s colors.
Thank you so very much for staying with my self-indulgent story for such a long time.
Please have wonderful dreams.
In the sunset sky
A single lost star
Clutching an old ticket
Hidden inside a pocket
I wonder where you are going
When you are sad
Imitate the color of the sea
And try to laugh
Though no one knows the name of the flower
That blooms after tears
I know
The voice of the wind
Calling your name
Forever and ever
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
— New Testament, Matthew 5:16
“I believe that a human being can never accomplish great work unless they become absolutely obsessed with one single thing.”
— Osamu Dazai
“Hey, why are you going on a trip?”
“Because it’s painful.”
“Your ‘painful’ is always the same phrase; I can’t trust it at all.”
— From Osamu Dazai’s Tsugaru
Postscript — The Story of the Painter, Mimi Takamizawa
Hey, would you listen to the story of my friend for just a little bit at the end?
It’s the story of a slightly unusual, but deeply lovable painter named Mimi Takamizawa.
Mimi is a painter living in the modern era, but surprisingly, he uses no canvas or brushes whatsoever.
Then how does he paint? He creates his work digitally, manipulating the light on the other side of the screen.
And once the artwork is finished, he prints it onto the highest quality printmaking paper using a cutting-edge technique called giclée printing.
You must wonder why he uses such a method.
The themes Mimi paints are: your eyes and my eyes, Christianity, eternity, psychology, truth, gazes, history, loneliness, isolation, hardship, resurrection, and liberation… listing them like this makes it look complicated, but the content consists entirely of very close, joyful stories.
Mimi always says:
“A painter is a doctor who saves wounded souls.”
The work of an artist is to cut into their own skin as much as possible to deliver a sincere service and devotion to “you” who stand right in front of them.
That is why Mimi dedicates his entire self to you.
Please, do not abandon a man like Mimi.
In fact, I want you to laugh out loud at his clumsy way of living.
Mimi is an incredibly patient and indomitable man who grows stronger by being laughed at, so he never gives up.
He decided to become a painter after learning about the intensely dramatic and incredibly beautiful life of Vincent van Gogh.
The name “Mimi” (which means ear in Japanese) in “Mimi Takamizawa” was actually taken in honor of that famous ear-cutting incident of Van Gogh.
It’s a bit surprising, isn’t it?
But you see, Mimi knows.
He knows that any masterpiece in history was not painted by a genius like magic, but was born out of decades of dizzying trial and error and gritty effort.
That is why Mimi stubbornly keeps painting “eyes” inside his artwork.
Because while painting those eyes, he wants to keep feeling “you” on the other side of the screen.
He simply wants to know you.
No matter how much he is mocked or laughed at as a foolish human being, Mimi exposes his everything.
Because he wants to see your joyful face.
Because he wants to see you shed tears of emotion.
He doesn’t care at all about what anyone else says or criticizes.
If you abandon him, Mimi cannot go on living.
Just having you stand in front of him makes Mimi so happy he could jump.
In his heart, he always welcomes you with a roaring standing ovation.
The attitude with which Mimi approaches his work is intense, precisely because he deeply respects Tokuji Munetsugu, the founder of “CoCo Ichibanya.”
Mr. Munetsugu was a man completely dedicated to his work, never looking away to anything else.
He believed there was no time to waste on hobbies.
During his unfortunate childhood, it was classical music that saved his heart.
He loved music so much that after retiring from management, he built and operated a magnificent music hall by himself; yet, during his time as the active manager of CoCo Ichibanya, it is said that he did not listen to classical music for even a single second.
He had no such luxury; he dedicated all his time to the customers right in front of him.
When he first started a tiny coffee shop, which was the predecessor of CoCo Ichi, it is said that no customers came at all in the beginning.
At lunchtime, his wife, who ran the business with him, had to stave off hunger by eating the crusts of leftover sandwich bread.
Yet, Mr. Munetsugu just laughs and says, “We started from zero, so that’s only natural. It’s actually a fond memory.”
If you thoroughly maintain a customer-first policy, things will absolutely get better.
Like stacking bricks one by one every day, stay focused, make instant decisions, and take immediate action.
First, just do it. In return, work yourself to death.
Mimi recites the words of Mr. Munetsugu in his heart every single day, as he dedicated his life to his work in this manner.
“During my active years, I had no hobbies and made no friends. I never went to bars either. I did absolutely nothing that would get in the way of my work. There were years when I worked 5,640 hours. I believed that if I didn’t lead by example, my subordinates wouldn’t work for me.”
“Do not look away, dedicate yourself to management.”
“It was a very lonely life. That is why I wanted others to show even a little interest in me. I wanted them to be interested. That became my starting point. So, rather than starting a business to make money, I wanted to make people happy. I wanted people to say they were glad I existed, even if just a little.”
— Tokuji Munetsugu
Life is not determined by how or where you were born and raised.
Mr. Munetsugu did not know the faces of his real parents.
He entered an orphanage immediately after birth, and even after being taken in by adoptive parents, he spent an impoverished childhood eating wild grass on the roadside in the summer to stave off hunger due to his adoptive father’s gambling addiction.
He carved out such a turbulent life, appearing to go with the flow, but in reality sacrificing his entire life for management.
Working more than 12 hours a day is the absolute minimum requirement for him.
He doesn’t want to rest, he doesn’t want to play; work itself is his greatest hobby.
Mimi has also inherited this “you-first policy.”
Things of true value often lack immediate effects.
There is no way things will go perfectly from the very start.
Therefore, rather than thinking, just try doing it. Please do not give up easily.
What kind of life you will have is determined by a person’s diligence, patience, and continuity.
Have tenacity and patience like Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of the Toyota Group.
Mr. Sakichi was always a quiet man, treated by those around him as an “eccentric,” an “invention nut,” and a “madman.”
From morning until night, day after day, he would make something only to break it, build it, and rebuild it again.
Yet, he possessed nothing but a single-minded passion: “I want to invent things to make everyone’s lives easier.”
Success and failure are not the end. What matters is the courage to continue.
In any case, you must be the one who works the longest and the hardest.
Just like the spirit of “Choya Umeshu,” it is a point of no return: “If you don’t succeed with plum liqueur, give up on life.”
Mimi is also deeply inspired by the concept of “Just-in-Time” from the Toyota Production System.
This wonderful production system systematized by Taiichi Ohno can be applied to any work and to the way we use time in our lives.
Kiichiro Toyoda’s words state: “The joy of life lies in mastering things that others rarely do and things that are difficult to achieve.”
And Mimi always writes down these words of Eiji Toyoda—Kiichiro’s cousin who later became the president of Toyota—in his notebook:
“Execute with strong conviction. Everyone thinks the same thoughts, and it’s not that Kiichiro was a genius. What is important is that he didn’t just think about what is generally considered impossible, but he carried a strong conviction that he must achieve it by any means, made sufficient preparations, and executed it.”
— Eiji Toyoda
Because it is difficult, I will do it. Because no one else does it or can do it, I will do it.
Kiichiro Toyoda said, “I do it because it is difficult. I do it because no one else does it or can do it. I might be a fool for doing so, but without such fools, new things would never be born into the world.”
Mimi wishes to be one of those lovable “fools,” and today he continues to paint eyes on his digital screen just for you.
Oh, by the way, returning to the story of Van Gogh, do you know why he became so universally loved after his death?
It is actually all thanks to a wonderful woman named Jo (Johanna van Gogh-Bonger), the wife of Van Gogh’s younger brother, Theo.
Jo was incredibly intelligent and a great reader.
When her husband Theo—who had continuously supported his older brother Vincent both financially and emotionally—passed away just six months after Vincent as if following him, Jo was left with a massive collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and a vast amount of correspondence exchanged between the brothers.
She was a young widow with a small child to raise. Normally, she might have fallen into despair and ended up selling off the paintings bit by bit.
But Jo was different.
She truly understood the paintings and the philosophy of that clumsy older brother whom her husband had staked his life to believe in.
She resolved, “I must absolutely never let this genius be buried in the darkness of history.”
“In addition to the child, Theo left me another mission—to have Vincent’s work seen by many people and to have its true value recognized.”
— Johanna van Gogh-Bonger (Jo)
Jo dedicated her life to fulfilling that devotion.
Being a reader herself, she felt a powerful empathy with the deep philosophy Van Gogh had written in his letters: “I want to paint pictures that comfort people.”
If Van Gogh had not written those voluminous letters to his brother, and if Jo had not carefully organized and published them to the world, we in the modern era would never have known Van Gogh’s sunflowers or his starry nights.
Come to think of it, this is exactly the same structure as Saint Paul traveling to various places after the death of Jesus Christ, continuously sending passionate letters to spread the life and philosophy of Christ to the people.
No matter how wonderful a thing is, if there is no “messenger” to explain and convey it with their life on the line, it becomes the same as if it never existed in this world.
The role played by Jo, and the role played by Paul.
In modern terms, it is exactly like Steve Jobs, the world’s greatest salesman; Akio Morita of Sony; Takeo Fujisawa, who sold Honda’s “Super Cub” all over the world; and Shotaro Kamiya, who pushed Toyota’s “Corolla” to become the very symbol of the Japanese family.
How crucial it is to communicate good things with fanatical passion!
Akio Morita of Sony left behind these words:
“A product that has never been produced before, that no one has ever seen, but has been diligently researched in some corner and manufactured after extraordinary hardship. If you want to turn that product into a commodity, you must arouse a desire among people to possess it; otherwise, no matter how excellent a ‘product’ it is, it can never become a ‘commodity’.”
— Akio Morita
Mimi’s digital giclée paintings might still be something “new and mysterious” to many people.
That is precisely why I am doing my absolute best to convey its wonder to you like this.
Just like Matsuo Basho’s words, “In the end, having no talent and no art, I simply cling to this one path,” please keep a corner of your heart open for the gaze of the painter Mimi Takamizawa, who lives single-mindedly for his devotion to you.
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
— Henry Ford
“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
— Agatha Christie
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
— Prophet Moses (Old Testament, Psalm 46:10)
“Cheer up. Today’s failure is the stepping stone to tomorrow’s success.”
— William Shakespeare
“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole Torah; the rest is the commentary; go and learn it.”
— The Talmud
“I am just filled with longing. I even feel as if that is the sole reason I am alive.”
— Osamu Dazai
“An adult is a child who has been betrayed.”
— Osamu Dazai
“A coward fears even happiness. He can get hurt even by cotton. He can be wounded even by happiness.”
— Osamu Dazai
“Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in”
— Winston Churchill
“Have courage, be the first, and do something different from everyone else.”
“I am thought to have achieved success overnight, but that one night lasted thirty years. Looking back, it was a long, long night.”
— Ray Kroc
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
— Walt Disney
“Just as iron rusts from disuse, and stagnant water loses its purity, so inaction saps the vigors of the mind.”
— Leonardo da Vinci
Thank you so very, very much for reading until the very end.
Meeting a precious reader like you is the greatest treasure of my life.
Please take good care of yourself.