Manga Lectio: One Room of Happiness

                                                           1. Why do Manga Lectio? 

Manga Lectio is a time for us to stop and take a breath. Between work, activities, family life, and social media, our minds are always moving. We rarely take time to contemplate and ask, why am I reading this manga? What’s the point of all this? And, how is this making me feel? 

2. Put away all distractions 

(phones, work, etc.)

We are so enslaved to things that stimulate our minds. Let this be a moment for us to free our minds, look inside of ourselves, and be at peace.

3. Deep Breathing

Take several deep breaths. Let your mind relax. If you’ve had any questions, desires, or struggles that you’ve been hiding or stuffing away, let them rise up to the surface. 

4. Open yourself to God’s Presence

Remember God places all our thoughts and desires inside of us, and He uses them to draw us closer to Himself. God gives us a community to help us understand who we are and what He is calling us to do. The faces of other people you know and don't know are like signs of God’s presence.  

5. Think About What’s on Your Mind in Relation to the Manga

Think about what’s been on your mind in relation to the manga.  The following is an example of such thoughts written by me.  

There are many ways to find happiness in this world.  Whether it be living with a group of people like you, a group of people that aren't like you, but are ones you can get along with, or living in some other way, happiness requires living in some sort of way.  Happiness also requires doing about it in order to maintain said happiness, like continuing a job, life, and/or friends and/or other relationships you may have depending on who you are and how you can achieve happiness, which can be seen in the manga series One Room of Happiness.

6. Brief and written explanation of the manga

Pay attention to how the brief and written explanation of the manga seen on this blog, or reading the manga for yourself since that's better than any explanation, might “speak” to you or shed light on the things that have been on your minds.

Note: This brief and written explanation of the manga is based on what Crunchyroll has so far, which is 10 volumes.

In the manga series One Room of Happiness, a girl ends up living a new life with her kidnapper, which is a life she actually prefers since her parents abused her. Due to this abuse, the girl isn't used to a lot of normal experiences, like eating food on plates, going out for things like shopping, and knowing how to be, and interact, with other people. She also questions what happiness means for her, which is also something that her kidnapper, who has his own issues as a result of growing up homeless with and without others, questions not only for her, but also for himself. Eventually, two detectives get themselves involved in their lives of what they want in terms of their own happiness, which leads the girl to confront her abusive mother on her own to try to convince her of the happiness she found with her kidnapper. This doesn't go well for her until her kidnapper shows up to save her once again by kidnapping her for a second time.

7.  Reflect on the manga

Has this brief and written explanation of the manga shed any light on what's been on your minds?  The following is an example of a reflection on the manga from me.

Happiness is subjective. What may be happiness for one person many not be the same for another. In the manga series One Room of Happiness, this is mostly seen in what the girl who's kidnapped thinks, what the kidnapper thinks, and what the other people in the manga series think based on what happens and what they do because of it. It's also interesting that the girl who's kidnapped asks her kidnapper to give her a new name, as well as the fact that he gives her a name that means happiness. This is the only name she really has, which means happiness is all she really has and she has received it from her kidnapper. There are many ways to find happiness, even if it comes from someone who kidnaps you in order to save you. What matters is that you find it in the way that suits you.

8. Final Prayer

Please voice any prayer intentions for friends, family, or people around the world that relate to this manga.  The following is an example written by me.

Let us pray that we can find our own happiness and understand what that means.