Shouganai (しょうがない) is actually a shortened or slurred way of saying shiyou ga nai. Directly translated, shiyou ga nai means, “there is no way of doing/going.” It is used interchangeably with shikata ga nai, which translates identically.

Although it is not a strict Japanese mindset it still holds the power and strength it makes me feel. You can also hold on to the western way of saying it. In English: It can’t be helped. In French: C’est la vie. In Dutch: Het zij zo etc. There are lots and lots of ways to say it, so just take the one that speaks to you most.

We all struggle with insecurities about ourselves. Do I look beautiful? Am I behaving the way others expect me to? Do I stand out? These are all questions we ask ourselves on a daily basis. Maybe not consciously, but we all want to be accepted into the world around us.

Isn’t it already a beautiful thing that we all exist? That we all have our own personalities. That we all are human beings on the same planet?

You know when we were children we could spend hours looking at ants moving stuff around. We could be amazed by the wind playing with leaves. The very sight of a rainbow let us drop what we were doing and stand still, just staring in trance at the miracle the rain brought us. What happend? What changed? To make us numb to those tiny little wonders.

In this day and age we measure ourselves by what we can do and by what we’ve accomplished. We measure the greatness of our lives by the amount and price of products we can buy. Everybody knows that happiness can’t be bought and money doesn’t make you happy. The key is to find out what does. I don’t know the big answer either, but I’m on this age old quest for true happiness like everybody else.

To kickstart my childlike wonder I like to take baby steps. Just sit on my balcony. Look at the world around me. See what jumps to my attention and stand still for a moment. Like a child staring in wonder at the rainbow. I soak in the image I see and try to find my little wonder.