I’ve never been in a position where I can sit back and think, “Right that’s it, I’m who I want to be, I’m where I want to be, I have nothing left to do”. Maybe that is a rather rare situation to find oneself in, maybe we might call it Enlightenment.
But if there are things we still wish to improve, to learn, to complete, the question arises, “Where To Next?”. Some things have to be done in sequence, some things can be changed in isolation, but deciding which to choose can be difficult.
Sensei, as always, has some very good advice:
“You may have fundamental questions about yourself and your identity: Who am I? What should I do with my life? It is quite natural to feel unsure about the best way to proceed. If you haven’t yet decided on your future course, I feel the best thing is just to concentrate your energies on what you need to do right now, and gradually your full potential will emerge.”
~ Daisaku Ikeda
Wise words indeed, and when they are allied to chanting, focussed on the same question, the answer is sure to come in no time. Having been through a great deal of change over the last few years, I would like to share a morsel of acquired wisdom, that being to remember to be compassionate towards yourself. Change can be, and often is, quite painful.
Nam Myoho Renge Kyo
In his writings, regarding Buddhist practice, Nichiren repeatedly emphasized the importance of the heart. 
Passing on the ideas and ideals behind Buddhist teachings is a little like sewing a hidden gem into the lining of a friends clothes.
Take one freezing cold morning, make that a freezing cold Monday morning, then add a cough that just won’t go away and the remnants of the weekend’s fluey thing, what have you got? One set of challenging circumstances. Almost the perfect storm, you might say.
The Sanskrit word Buddha means “One who is awakened [to the truth].” While the term was widely employed by various schools of the time, it eventually came to be used exclusively in reference to Shakyamuni. At the same time, the word Buddha implies “to bloom.”
When you become submerged in difficult situations, when the way forward looks bleak and less than inviting, it can be tempting to start pointing a finger at others to lay the blame at their door.
You might be thinking this is going to be a section taken from a Dyno-Rod manual, looking at the title, but it’s far more useful than that. 
There are some things in life that are just worth the suffering involved in attaining them. Your dreams are included, if not top, of that list.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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