Hope for the climb ahead...
Japan always seems to struggle in communicating with the rest of the world.
It is my belief that as Japan has so much to offer, at first glance this may indeed seem very unfortunate. For a long time the Japanese believed that they could bring their own kind of harmony to the world. However the Japanese have never been very direct about anything, so they hardly ever state their case. Part of the problem here is also that very few Japanese speak fluent English. To make matters worse, both sides of the cultural gap assume the stance that its up to the other side to understand their position and if that could occur then all would be well. This approach has led to what many believe is an unbridgeable divide.
There is the Japanese view of how life should be lived in an intelligent way while Westerners have their own views. The most interesting aspect of humanity however is that things often seem to get done between the cracks. Here is where the action lives, like a daisy growing out of a fissure in the pavement. However slowly, a middle way is being forged. International families are growing in number, more Japanese are travelling and living overseas and International interest in Japan is growing rapidly. Furthermore as the Japanese population quickly ages, more and more young foreigners are being used to fill the service gaps.
Fact 1: The world is now coming to Japan weather it wants it or not. Fact 2: Harmony and order is what the world now needs weather it understands this or not. Fact 3: Change is becoming increasingly faster.
How many of us think that we are going in the right direction? What solutions can we find in each others cultures? Could Japan’s unique brand of harmony be used to bring peace and order to the world? These things may seem idealistic and impossibly far off, a dream perhaps, but for those looking for answers to their own personal life in the present they may offer some possibility of hope.
What becomes so fascinating is this notion of “Opposites attract.” Is it coincidence that just as the world seems to be in a huge state of upheaval that “Simple” Japan is so popular as a travel destination and a world wide trending topic? I’m the first to admit that “Asian Mystery” has been a compelling aspect of my longstanding marriage.
“Opposites attract” is a great place to start. It comes from two different sides that know their own unique way of doing things, but realize that they can be even better, stronger, more effective as a combination. My wife and I obviously believed this. We built an (Australian based) International kindergarten in Tokyo for this very reason. When you start, it’s got to be from the ground up.
The Key to Japan’s Simplicity
As your trip in Japan unfolds, Id like you to keep a key word in mind. For me, it’s the key that unlocks Japan’s simplicity. The word (as mentioned in my previous post) is “Unminding.” Does this sound and look straight forward to you? Look closely, and you will realize that it’s actually in reverse! Not the letters, but the context.
Typically speaking, our minds are always on a “Forward trajectory”. We get out of bed, eat breakfast, drive the car to work, create plans for the future, act on them, create more plans etc. We operate in a “Forward direction only.”
Just like this blog, every manmade thing is built out of concepts. We take these concepts of mind and we run forward with them. Its fortunate that we can do this because without it we couldn’t be creative and we couldn’t build a life.
Unfortunately, the world is a finite place. Everyone knows the expression “When we are born our life is like a blank sheet of paper.” We draw on this paper with our concepts, and we create something on it. But every good artist knows that at some point they have to stop drawing or the picture will be ruined. Space after all is a critical aspect that defines our creations. Enter the art of “Unminding.”
“Once the writer in every individual comes to life (and that time is not far off) we are in for an age of Universal Deafness and lack of understanding”
-Milan Kundera (The book of laughter and forgetting 1979)
That was more than forty years ago. Social media is now causing concepts to just pile up on each other like a huge meaningless mountain. The introduction of AI will only magnify this. So, before this post is swamped, and you become conceptually deaf, please just take this one word to heart, “Unminding.”
The secret to Japan’s simplicity, and something that everyone of us needs to know, is that humanity also came, with this built in, reverse gear.
Next Post: Fuji: On your way to the base of the mountain