Intangible

	“Magical power”

	While the attraction we call “charm” is something spontaneous and harmless, we should remember there is another type of magical power, also intangible but very different in nature… an evil one, well calculated and planned, that attracts, traps, and destroys its prey without mercy. Human greed, sexual desire, hunger for fame or power, materialistic attachments, base appetite... the pitfalls lie everywhere. We are forever vulnerable to an evil magical power: it creeps up on us whispering gentle, sweet words, until we are strung up, inadvertently, in a deadly web. If we do not have discerning eyes able to distinguish falsehood from truth, we may easily become another “aging society” victim of an ore-ore (it’s me) telephone fraud, bank transfer scam, or similar “fake” phenomena that have become buzzwords lately, or be taken in by deceptive “puff” publicity and fliers, et cetera. We each should take full responsibility for our actions. But we might also be at the mercy of our own greed: a negative intangible power that plunders from the inside. Beware of the entrance that seems sweet and easily approached, the invitation that sounds too good, the suspicious power that dulls the mind, the strong force that knocks us down beyond recovery, or the maze without an exit. In Greek mythology, Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Crete, helped Theseus escape after killing the Minotaur by laying a thread in the labyrinth to guide him out. If only we, too, had a thread to lead us out of our world of absurdities and temptations. People go on killing each other, countries engage in wars to expand their territory and satisfy their greed for power. Is there any negative intangible power more dreadful than this? For us ordinary folk to avoid such evil power, we should adhere to these precepts in our everyday lives: 　　・Beware of the gap between the mouth and the heart 　　・Traps and gimmicks are always set close by 　　・When suspicions arise, there is no “benefit of the doubt” 　　・Stay alert and keep up your guard 　　・Nothing is riskier than something “free” 　　・Better to ask for independent advice than venture in alone 　　・Stop and think before jumping at a juicy offer It is necessary to control our greed by applying reason. Easier said than done––but when we fail to practice this rule, we easily fall prey to the evil intangible power. It is hard for people to suppress their greed even as they become older and more experienced. In this respect, animals can be said to be much smarter than humans.
	K.Yamakawa