The world is overflowing with all sorts of information, and there are moments when it becomes hard to know what is true or right. Listening to voices from beyond the screen or browsing through online news, it is not uncommon for our minds to feel unsettled. Yet, even in such a complicated world, standing here behind the counter makes the scenery look just a little bit different.

At the end of the day, at the ground level, you simply cannot beat a drinker. No matter how many arguments are piled up, in the face of time spent shoulder to shoulder raising glasses together, unnecessary walls tend to gently fade away. I believe that if people can just drink and talk peacefully, that alone is quite enough.

As we share glasses over drinks, our hearts naturally relax and we begin to see each other for who we are. No matter the country or the position, I feel that accumulating moments where we can share a laugh with the person right in front of us is far more important. I cannot claim anything as grand as making the world peaceful, but at least we should be able to create calm moments starting from the very first glass right in front of us.

Perhaps that is precisely why alcohol exists in the first place. The bottles lined up on the 83rd shelf may well be there just to soothe someone’s mind. Today too, as I tilt my glass at the edge of the counter, I find myself hoping that such peaceful moments will simply continue on.