A Tribute to Kokoro ‘He is the most famous author in Japan and almost everybody knows him’, said my friend. Following her advice, I took up a novel by Sōseki Natsume. Kokoro, in my opinion, is captivating, in-depth and true to life, and should be included in any ’10 books you must read in your lifetime’ list. The title literally means ‘heart’ but not as a body part but a feeling. The book explores the themes of loneliness and isolation in the transition from the Meiji to the modern era, detailing the friendship of two nameless characters: Sensei and the narrator. I will not go into detail of its plot, but instead express my thoughts on one of the quotes that struck me as thought-provoking, “To tell you the truth, I used to consider it a disgrace to be found ignorant by other people. But now, I find that I am not ashamed of knowing less than others, and I'm less inclined to force myself to read books.” – Sensei Sensei stopped comparing himself with others, but nowadays many people still stumble into the dangerous comparison trap. On the one hand, downward comparison requires that we take pleasure and joy in someone’s unfortunate which can fuel our arrogance and egocentricity. On the other hand, devaluing ourselves with a negative thought of being inferior to others will lead to depression and self-destruction. Do we have time to consider every characteristics of a human being? Is all information we receive accurate or just an edited story that a person presents to the world? What is the purpose of a time-consuming battle where nobody wins? It should also be noted that Sensei was not worried about being regarded as unknowledgeable; he accepted the way he was. In the modern life, living true to oneself remains an argument. Perhaps an outstanding student will drop out of school telling his parents all he has done were just to make them proud. A top model will probably confess to the media that she is exhausted and has had enough of diets. Someday we may learn to stop punishing ourselves mentally and feel contented with our strengths and weaknesses. To swim against the current is not always a simple task, to be exact, a challenging one. It requires not only braveness but determination as well. (Continue in comments)