A while back, two interns joined our studio. Both young women were slender and graceful, very pretty, and had distinct personalities—I really liked them. When they first arrived at the Kamicarv studio, they started almost at the same time and did the same work—mainly helping with paper-cutting and gluing, organizing pieces, and handling some of the studio’s daily tasks. I assigned them roughly the same workload, paid them the same salary, and trained them together. So at first, I didn’t think there would be much difference between them. But after a while, I gradually noticed something very strange.

One of the interns grew happier as she worked and picked things up faster and faster. Sometimes, after finishing her current task, she’d even take the initiative to ask me what else she could help with. It was clear she was starting to really enjoy being here and was becoming more and more engaged. The other intern, however, was the exact opposite. She began working more and more slowly, and she didn’t seem as energetic as she had when she first arrived. Even when we were working together as a team, I sensed she was growing increasingly unhappy, and she started arriving late and leaving early. In the end, she handed in her resignation. At that point, I was genuinely curious. Both interns had started at the same time, were doing the same work, earning the same salary, and I’d trained them both the same way—so why was one becoming happier while the other was increasingly eager to leave?

Where exactly was the problem? So, as she was preparing to leave, I made a point of setting aside time to talk with her. I asked her if there was something wrong with the work environment, or if the work was just too demanding for her. I told her that if there was anything making her uncomfortable, she could tell me—I wanted to know the real reason. At first, she didn’t say much; she just stammered, as if some words were hard to bring up. Afterward, I didn’t rush into discussing work-related matters; instead, we talked about many other things. Once she gradually relaxed, she finally told me: She thinks I’m biased. She felt that my attention was constantly focused on the other intern—that I cared more about her and didn’t pay as much attention to her. Hearing this, I finally understood that the real reason she’d been unhappy all this time wasn’t the work itself.

I’ll pause the story here for a moment. Because it was precisely this incident that reminded me of the four-character phrase I really want to share today: [Appearance Reflects the Heart].

Many people think “appearance reflects the heart” refers to a person’s physical appearance, but I actually believe it carries another layer of meaning that’s well worth reflecting on. The world we each see is often influenced by our own thoughts and feelings. When someone begins to think, “The boss likes her more than me,” from that moment on, many things that were once ordinary gradually start to look different to her. If I give the other person an extra piece of advice, it might be seen as favoritism; if I exchange a few more words with her, it might be interpreted as showing her more attention; or even if I just happen to assign a task to someone else, she might think to herself, “See? It’s her again, just as I expected.” As these thoughts accumulate day after day, the work environment she ultimately perceives will naturally be completely different from that of the other intern.

But from my perspective, the two of them actually had the same opportunities from the very beginning. This experience also made me rethink something: Often, it’s not that the world has changed, but rather that our own thoughts have altered the way we see the world. If a person constantly believes that making money is difficult, they tend to see nothing but obstacles; if they constantly feel they’re unlucky, every setback in life becomes proof of their misfortune. Conversely, if a person believes they still have room to grow, when faced with a problem, they’re more likely to ask: What else can I learn? Where can I do better? Are there other approaches? It’s not that simply having a more positive mindset guarantees that everything will go smoothly. Rather, our mindset influences our choices, our choices influence our actions, and time and again, those actions can ultimately lead two people to completely different places.

The same principle applies to the paper sculptures we create every day. To some, a sheet of paper is just a sheet of paper; but to us, it can be a work of art, a person’s story, a memory, or even an emotion we want to preserve for many years to come. If we had assumed from the start that “this is the limit of what paper sculpture can achieve,” then Kamicarv would likely still be stuck where it started. It is precisely because we have always believed there are more possibilities that we keep experimenting with new compositions, new techniques, and new materials—and constantly ask ourselves: Could paper sculpture take on a different form?

So now I believe that the saying “appearances arise from the mind” isn’t just telling us that if we think positively about everything, good things will naturally happen. It’s more like a reminder to ourselves: what you deeply believe in over time influences what you see; and what you see, in turn, influences the path you take next. We cannot determine every event we encounter in life, nor can we demand that everything unfold exactly as we envision it. But at the very least, we can occasionally ask ourselves: Is this world before me—which makes me unhappy—truly as it is, or is part of it a reflection of my own thoughts?

Sometimes, things haven’t changed at all. It’s just that with a shift in perspective, what we see becomes an entirely different world.


Kamicarv｜The Art of Paper Carving

A piece of paper can have many different forms, and life can too.


( Translated from the original Chinese text )