5X17

During the past few months as I've been battling this aggravation and that one, I've been reminding myself:  Aim higher, aim higher!  But that hasn't been much help and aiming lower would just be sad, wouldn't it?  It was right after I fruitlessly told myself Aim higher!  yet again that I saw this quote online:

"It's not about aiming for higher goals. 

It's about anchoring existing roots firmly into the ground. 

That's the consensus among all five of us."

~ Arashi's Ninomiya Kazunari

translation credit, amnosxmatsujun

Our dreams, our wishes, our plans will never be truly strong if they stand tall but have no foundation.  We have to do the hard work that it takes to get there, and we have to keep trying without giving up.  Arashi is proof of that.  They've been living in that truth since September 15, 1999.

Yeah, that quote was definitely what I needed to hear.  The best sort of advice--it comes from someone who knows, someone who has struggled, someone who has worked hard every inch of the way.  It's advice I will remember.  I don't have to aim higher; I need to focus instead on doing the best that I can in this very moment while still hoping for more, pressing forward to the future with goals in mind.

Arigatou, Arashi.

Omedetou 5X17.

(Sometimes God sends us the very help that we need in the most unexpected ways.  I've explained before; here's the link: 
Arashi and the Reason Why )