Kiryu’s reminder that both kinds of strength are necessary to live a meaningful and fulfilling life are reminders for me, too. I desperately don’t want to rely on other people when I need to vent, because I don’t want to look like the friend who is constantly negative. I don’t want to rely on other people when I want to make a big change in my life, because I want to take pride in my independence and inner strength. And I don’t want to rely on other people when I am struggling on my own, because I have internalized the wrong message at some point in my life that asking for help is weakness. I don’t view other people as weak when they ask for help, I’ve noticed, so I have to continually wonder why I view such behavior as weak only when it applies to me.
When I think of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the lesson I would like to learn is to practice kindness to myself instead of the guilt-tripping of my first relapse.