Sending Starlight

"A lot of times, strength is softer than we think. It's the first big breath after days of being numb, and the lightness you feel when you open your eyes and find that they're no longer full of tears - a reminder that we will heal and we will carry on living."

"Kindness is a choice. Once you've committed yourself to it, it will shine in everything you do. You don't have to be an perfect; you just have to keep becoming a fuller human being day by day."

The second part of the Japanese folktale 'The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Child'. This time, we look at the trials that Princess Moonlight had set for her suitors, the outcome of the trials, and find out the truth of her origins.

Hear the Japanese folktale, 'The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Child', where a bamboo cutter is blessed with a child from heaven. The moon daughter then grows into a fine woman, enchanting everyone just like her name: Princess Moonlight. With many lining up for her hand in marriage while her father yearns for a grandchild, Princess Moonlight will put her suitors to the test.

"Too often, we get too fixated on the symbols and we lose sight on the meaning they're supposed to have. It's important to have your heart as an anchor in this storm of expectations, and only then can you find true meaning in the things you do."

This letter is dedicated to anyone who's ever felt doubtful of their pursuits in this increasingly competitive world, being surrounded by decorated peers while not knowing whether the things they do are enough. This is a self-reminder to look back into myself and to recognize what kind of things have made me into a fuller person, because those are the things that mean the most.

Hear the story of 'The Sealskin', a folk tale from Iceland about a seal woman and a peasant who stole her skin. 

we introduce to you: sending starlight, the storytelling podcast.