What is a "friend"? What does it mean to me to feel that I have "no friends" or "only a few"? Because it’s not exactly a vital necessity for surviving tomorrow, these thoughts about "friends" tend to just drift into my mind from time to time. However, as I cleaned with the honest feelings that surfaced, I began to see something that goes far beyond the framework of "friendship"—something more like my own way of being. The friendships KR-san builds every day at her ranch served as a wonderful hint. Whether it’s a friend I’ll never meet again or someone I currently consider a "friend," if they appear in my heart right now, I want to continue cleaning with them using the tools KR-san shared with us.

It was a session perfectly suited for the first Strawberry Jam of 2026, where we could deeply stretch out the "stiffness" of our minds. "Kodawari"—while it is an essential part of ourselves and our lives, it can also become a heavy boulder that unknowingly robs us of our freedom. Starting with explaining this uniquely Japanese word "Kodawari" to KR-san, and then hearing about when she notices its presence and how she cleans with it... it was such a delightful time feeling like we all got a glimpse of her secret!

Whether I am meeting someone or walking alone, the chatter in my head can start up so suddenly. When the content of that conversation is unpleasant, I tend to immediately judge myself harshly, or feel lonely and miserable. Then, I struggle as I pile even more thoughts on top of that initial conversation. But! As KR shared with us, that is exactly where the "Golden Ticket" is waiting for us. It was such an encouraging session that reminded me: through cleaning, we are always in the perfect place, right now and in every moment.

There were moments when I caught myself thinking, “Maybe I’m overthinking this…” and wondered what to do with that part of me. Should I judge it, try to stop it, or simply keep “cleaning”? Through my conversations with KR-san, I found myself wanting to clean more and more—without forcing anything. Even when I started feeling bad or small for overthinking, I realized I could just clean that too. In doing so, I naturally rediscovered a gentle rhythm that helps me move forward with ease.

For me, "regret" has always been like a blindfold, obscuring the joy and beauty of the present moment. It’s not just a blindfold, but something heavy and painful—so powerful that, no matter how much I try to do good or make an effort, it suddenly appears and takes away all my confidence. Once I do something that leads to regret, it feels like a tattoo that never fades. So, when I was eagerly looking forward to asking KR about this during today’s Strawberry Jam, as if clinging to a thread of hope, the cleaning tool provided turned out to be exactly what I needed! When I tried it during the session, just as KR had described, memories began to surface one after another. I became so absorbed in the cleaning that I didn’t even have time to feel the weight or pain.

I’ve often told myself that I’m lazy, a person who gives up easily, always tired, and that it’s already too late. These were the words I repeatedly threw at myself whenever I couldn’t follow through with what I had decided to do. When KR explained that the most important thing is returning to my true self, and that this is more important than doing what I want to do or blaming myself for not being able to do it, it made me realize the labels I had attached to myself. Every time I remembered these labels, I did a cleaning, and within just 1 hour and 15 minutes, I was able to feel lighter again.

I talked with KR about something I’ve been feeling strongly lately — the difficulty of keeping up with a changing world. We discussed the anxiety around not mastering new tech like AI, feeling overwhelmed by social media, and the challenges of relationships in this new era, using your questions as a starting point. As I used the new cleaning tool KR introduced, I began to feel lighter. I realized I can be fully present by cleaning whatever I'm feeling. Everything happening now is necessary — and I felt an unexpected sense of freedom. How are you experiencing this new era? Let’s try cleaning with this new tool together!

What do we experience when we feel nervous? This episode of our newly launched "Strawberry Jam" begins with me asking KR how to practice "cleaning" regarding the tension I feel when speaking. Does even KR get nervous? If so, what does she do? It was such a hopeful conversation, reminding us that no matter how anxious we are, returning to cleaning allows us to return to our most essential state. We also discuss various other topics based on questions submitted by the participants.