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昨日はありがとうございました
日本の会社で働き始めて三週間がたったころ、チームの食事会があった。次の朝、席に着くと、隣の吉田さんが「昨日はありがとうございました」と軽く頭を下げた。わたしは一瞬、何のお礼なのかわからなかった。ごちそうしたわけでも、何かを手伝ったわけでもない。お礼なら、前の晩に別れるときにもう言い合ったはずだ。
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About three weeks after I started working at a Japanese company, our team had a dinner. The next morning, as I sat down at my desk, Yoshida at the next desk gave a slight bow and said, “Thank you for yesterday.” For a moment I had no idea what the thanks were for. I hadn’t paid for anyone, and I hadn’t helped with anything. And if thanks were due, we had already said them to each other when we parted the night before.
ところが、その朝は同じ言葉があちこちから聞こえてきた。多めに払ってくれた課長にも、店を予約した同僚にも、ただ隣に座っていただけの人にも。課長は「こちらこそ」と笑っていた。わたしには、もう済んだことをわざわざ繰り返しているように見えた。正直に言えば、少し余計な気さえした。
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Yet that morning, the same words came from all directions: to the section manager, who had put in extra; to the colleague who had booked the restaurant; even to people who had simply been sitting next to someone. The section manager smiled and said, “No, thank you.” To me it looked like going out of your way to repeat something already over. To be honest, it even struck me as a little unnecessary.
その意味がわかってきたのは、しばらくたってからだ。お礼は、何かをしてもらったときにだけ言うものとは限らない。翌日の一言には、「昨日の時間を、わたしも大切に思っています」という気遣いが込められているのだと思う。言葉としては短いあいさつに過ぎないが、昨日と今日を、そして人と人を、細い糸のようにつないでいる。
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It was only some time later that I began to understand. Thanks aren’t only for when someone has done something for you. I think the word the next day carries a quiet thoughtfulness: “I value the time we spent yesterday, too.” As words, it is no more than a short greeting, but like a fine thread, it ties yesterday to today, and one person to another.
頭では理解したものの、自分から言うのは思ったより難しかった。初めて言えたのは、二回目の食事会の翌朝だ。前の晩、わたしの故郷の料理の話を熱心に聞いてくれた先輩に、「昨日はありがとうございました」と言ってみた。先輩は「あの料理、今度作り方を教えてね」と答えた。昨日の話が、そのまま今日に続いた瞬間だった。
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I understood it in my head, but saying it myself turned out to be harder than I had thought. The first time I managed it was the morning after our second team dinner. The night before, a senior colleague had listened keenly while I talked about the food of my home town, and I tried saying to them, “Thank you for yesterday.” They answered, “You must teach me how to make that dish some time.” In that moment, yesterday’s conversation carried straight on into today.
特別なことが何もなかった日だからこそ、この一言は人間関係を少しずつ温めていくのかもしれない。今朝もわたしは、昨夜の勉強会で隣に座った人に、短いメッセージを送った。「昨日はありがとうございました。」
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Perhaps it is precisely on days when nothing special happened that these few words slowly warm the ties between people. This morning, too, I sent a short message to the person who sat next to me at last night’s study group: “Thank you for yesterday.”
Three expressions
値段の高い店が、いつもおいしいとは限らない。
Expensive restaurants aren’t always good.
「〜とは限らない」: “not necessarily …”, “not always …”. It denies the idea that something is generally true, and often goes with 「いつも」, 「必ずしも」 or 「〜からといって」. In the story, 「何かをしてもらったときにだけ言うものとは限らない」 means “thanks aren’t only for when someone has done something for you”.
これはわたしの考えに過ぎないが、参考にしてもらえるとうれしい。
This is only my own view, but I’d be glad if you found it useful.
「〜に過ぎない」: “no more than …”, “merely …”. It follows a noun or the plain form and suggests it is nothing much. In the story, 「短いあいさつに過ぎないが」 means “it is no more than a short greeting, but …”.
ジムに申し込んだものの、まだ一度も行っていない。
I signed up for the gym, but I haven’t been once.
「〜ものの」: “although …”. The first part is true, but what follows isn’t what you would expect; it is more written than 「けれども」. In the story, 「頭では理解したものの、自分から言うのは思ったより難しかった」 means “I understood it in my head, but saying it myself was harder than I had thought”.
One small thing to do
Tip
Send 「昨日はありがとうございました」 to someone who helped you yesterday or spent some time with you. Japanese or your own language is fine; if no one comes to mind, pick someone you saw today and send it tomorrow morning.