How to Read “Wherever you live, it’s one life”
Doko de kurasu mo isshō
Meaning of “Wherever you live, it’s one life”
“Wherever you live, it’s one life” means that since you only live once, you should live positively without obsessing over location.
People often think, “Maybe there’s a better place somewhere” or “My life would be different if I lived there.” This proverb encourages us to let go of such attachments and regrets about places.
Whether in the city or countryside, at home or abroad, the length of your life doesn’t change. What matters is not “where you are” but “how you live.”
This saying is used for people whose environment changed due to job transfers or moves, those living away from their hometown, or anyone dissatisfied with their current home.
It teaches that changing locations won’t solve your problems. What’s truly important is living a fulfilling life wherever you are right now.
Origin and Etymology
No specific written source has been identified for this proverb’s first appearance. However, based on its structure, it likely originated as folk wisdom among common people during the Edo period.
The expression “Wherever you live, it’s one life” has a very simple structure. It creates deep meaning by contrasting the indefiniteness of place (“wherever”) with the finiteness of time (“one life”).
During the Edo period, people had more opportunities to travel. The sankin-kōtai system moved samurai families, and merchants traveled for business. Many people also had to relocate due to disasters like famines and fires.
Against this backdrop, people realized a truth: “Even when your location changes, the value of life itself doesn’t change.”
Some longed for the city, while others couldn’t bear to leave their hometown. But wherever they were, they had only one life to live.
This proverb condenses this obvious yet profound fact into just a few words. It embodies the gentle wisdom of our ancestors, teaching us to let go of attachment to places and live fully wherever we are.
Usage Examples
- I was anxious about my overseas transfer, but I’m preparing positively because wherever you live, it’s one life
- I dreamed of country living, but since wherever you live, it’s one life, I decided to find joy in my current city
Universal Wisdom
Humans constantly seek ideals in “somewhere other than here.” The grass looks greener on the other side, and we believe something wonderful exists in distant lands.
This might be an instinct we acquired through evolution, driving us to seek better environments. But this trait also carries the danger of leading us into eternal dissatisfaction.
“Wherever you live, it’s one life” has been passed down through generations because it answers this fundamental human conflict.
There’s the belief that changing locations will change your life. Then there’s the truth that it’s not the place but your own way of being that determines your life. Humans have always wavered between these two ideas across all eras.
Our ancestors understood something important. Happiness isn’t given by a place. It’s created by how you live in that place.
When you become aware of life’s finite nature, attachment to places loses meaning. Time flows equally everywhere, and life certainly moves toward its end.
By accepting this harsh fact, we paradoxically gain the power to cherish this present moment.
When AI Hears This
In quantum mechanics, particles exist in a “superposition state” where all possibilities exist simultaneously until observed. For example, before observation, an electron is in both location A and location B at the same time.
But the moment you measure it, it settles into one location. This proverb actually has the same structure.
Before a person decides “where to live,” their life exists as a superposition of all possibilities—Tokyo, the countryside, overseas, everywhere at once.
But the moment they actually choose one place and start living there, like wave function collapse, countless possibilities settle into one reality.
What’s important here is that in quantum mechanics, the other unobserved possibilities don’t disappear. One interpretation suggests they continue existing as parallel worlds.
So “Wherever you live, it’s one life” isn’t about giving up on the lives you didn’t choose. It actually speaks a deep truth.
Whether you choose Tokyo or the countryside, it’s just one possibility out of infinite options being observed. Every choice equally holds the same length and weight of “one life.”
The moment you as the observer make a decision, only that life becomes real. Here’s a scientific perspective that frees you from the pressure of choice.
Lessons for Today
In modern society, we can easily see attractive places worldwide through social media. That’s wonderful, but it also amplifies dissatisfaction with “where we are now.”
This proverb offers an important perspective for modern people.
The place where you are now might be by chance or by choice. Either way, the time you spend there is definitely part of your life.
Rather than spending your life searching for the ideal place, isn’t it far more constructive to think about what you can do where you are now?
This isn’t a philosophy of resignation. Rather, it’s about freeing yourself from dependence on external factors like location and reclaiming the agency to shape your own life.
A person who can live a fulfilling life anywhere is truly free in the deepest sense.
Find something only you can do where you are now. That’s where the meaning of your life lies.
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