Nothing Is Wasted
- Rev. Mario Kawakami
- Mar 1
- 5 min read
In this newsletter, I would like to share a prayer from the July 2025 Truth of Life magazine titled “Prayer to Know That There Is Nothing Useless.” In the first paragraph, the prayer explains that there are no useless things in this world. We may think something is useless because of our prejudiced view:
It is said that “useless” comes from “futile.” There is, however, not futility in the world of Reality created by God. All things exist with purpose and meaning for everything. When a certain action has not yielded the result of intended purpose, it might be expressed as having been a “useless act.” But that is a prejudiced view seen from a specific standpoint adhered to a specific purpose. If someone with a different objective from a different standpoint looks at it, there are many instances when the same “useless act” is a process to “great results.” Because God has not created the world for a particular person’s particular objective, it is a mistake to judge what God has created as being “useless” from a narrow-minded individual perspective. (July 2025 Truth of Life, p. 5)
This prayer teaches us that our human perspective is limited. We often judge events or efforts based only on what we can understand through our five physical senses. However, God sees from infinite perspectives. What we may see as “useless” or “wasted” may, in fact, be meaningful and necessary in a much larger context.
Take our education as an example. In school, we study many subjects—language, mathematics, science, history, music, and physical education. As adults, we may think we do not need some of these subjects. We might even regret not specializing earlier. However, training the mind involves learning a variety of things. Skills and knowledge we once thought we would never use often become useful in unexpected ways.
When I was in high school, I learned how to read and keep accounting books. At that time, I thought I would never use that skill since I majored in language in college. After graduation, I worked at the Hilton Hotel. There, I used English to communicate with customers, but I never needed bookkeeping skills.
Later, when I became the Director of Administration for the Seicho-No-Ie Chiba Missionary Area, I had to review financial reports before submitting them to the Board of Directors. At that time, the accounting knowledge I had once dismissed became incredibly helpful. It reminded me that nothing we learn is truly wasted. The skills we think we’ll never need can end up serving us in vital ways.
When we understand that nothing in this world is wasted—and that no skill is truly useless—we can stop worrying about unnecessary things. Whatever comes our way is exactly what we need at that moment to learn and grow. Our task is simply to learn from each situation.
In fact, the concept of “useless” is created by the human mind. For example, an interview article with Dr. Shiro Tsuyuzaki, a professor at the Graduate School of Hokkaido University, explains that many people think wetlands or bogs are wasteland.
…In Europe and the United States, people tend to view wetlands as the enemy of humans and see their mission as developing them into farmland, whereas in Japan, a culture of coexistence with nature is deeply rooted. This cultural difference is likely reflected in the different definitions of wetlands.
Wetlands primarily form in areas with low air and water temperatures, such as highlands, springs, and mountainous regions, where water tends to stagnate. Large-scale wetlands, in particular, often develop in areas that were once large lakes or swamps.
To explain the mechanism behind their formation, plants such as reeds and sedges that grow and die around lakes and ponds accumulate as they grow and die. Under normal circumstances, these plant remains would decompose and return to the soil, but in the special environment of a wetland, decomposition does not occur and they accumulate at the bottom of the water. (Omitted)
Decomposition of plant remains is primarily due to the activity of microorganisms in the soil, but the unique environment of wetlands—low temperatures, covering with water, and low oxygen—suppresses microbial activity. As a result, plant remains do not decompose actively and accumulate as peat. (Inochi no Wa, “Circle of Life,” September 2025, pp. 17-18)
According to Dr. Tsuyuzaki, the most important ecosystem service provided by the peat is carbon accumulation. Peatlands cover only 3% of the land surface on Earth, yet they store about 30% of the carbon on land, making them “a massive carbon reservoir that significantly contributes to mitigating global warming.” This means wetlands, often seen as unwanted, can play a role in preventing or slowing global warming. It truly shows that nothing in this world is useless.
Protecting such wetlands is vital, and the first step, he suggests, is to visit them. Even things that seem useless at first glance require effort for us to become familiar with them and understand their true value. In his prayer titled “Prayer to Know That There Is Nothing Useless,” Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie, teaches that relationships with all people we encounter in life are not in vain. He further instructs us that:
“Even people who appear to be the ‘enemy,’ are ‘mirrors’ to teach us what we lack phenomenally and are taught to open up the path to further improvement.” (July 2025 Truth of Life, p. 7)
First, we must face even those who seem useless as mirrors. We must visit places that seem pointless and make the effort to seek out the good in those people and in those places.
Spring, the season when new buds emerge, has arrived. As we take on new challenges and strive for success, let us make the effort to face these seemingly useless things and discover the positive meaning within them.
Discover Inspiration in the Truth of Life Magazine
Truth of Life magazine, published by Truth of Life Publications, offers inspiring and uplifting content designed to nourish the spirit. This year, we continue to publish and share the magazine with as many people as possible to provide spiritual nourishment. We thank all of you for your continued support.
The theme of the March 2026 issue is “Embody Your Divine Self.” Our life originates from God. God created everything in His own image and delighted in His creation. We can embody our divine self through the divine guidance of the Lord of Seicho-No-Ie when we sincerely practice the teachings. Discover your divine self within through the March issue of the magazine.
You can order a copy or subscribe to the magazine here.
OPEN THE DOORS OF YOUR LIFE
Words of Light in Japanese and English
Edited by Seicho Taniguchi
To maintain strong and cheerful faith in your heart is the driving force that realizes your hopes.
After envisioning what we hope for during our Shinsokan and firmly believing that we have already received it, it is essential that we do not allow fear, uncertainty and opposite ideas to erase it. Let us believe that we have already received what we hope for, meditate on it and say it in our hearts. It will surely be realized. (p. 151)
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