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Normal is over in Japan
I arrived in at Narita Tuesday night. Escalators turned off, lights dimmed. a quietness, a subdued energy present. Driving in to Tokyo with street lights off and building lights turned off, it was like coming in to a different reality. The difference was at a way of being level, an energetic one.
On wednesday i had my first meeting, with about 6 people i know pretty well. it was the first time any of them has shared their own inner turmoil since 3/11. ALL of Japan has been affected. of course, the deepest disaster is in the Tohoku region and I have not been there yet -- and don't know if i will go there. I won't unless there is a specific reason to be there. Wednesday night we had about 80 people together in the first Japan Dialogue event. same as with the afternoon, it was the first time most people had an opportunity to share their inner experience.
Tokyo is quieter; people sensing that everything has changed now, and they are still not sure what now is. Normal is gone. Forever. And what exists now is a blind spot, waiting to be visible.
The change is an energetic one. And I'm not just talking about the lights turned off everywhere and the rolling blackouts -- although there is also a dramatically shifted sense there too. People saying things like "we have less energy and life is better now." Or "I'm spending more time with my family and my sense of what is important to me is different now." there's a sense of wanting new indicators for success. We're even talking about Gross National Happiness as a measure -- something almost unimaginable in Japan before 3/11.
Let me share one image from a couple of days ago. I was in a meeting with many 35 business people in Tokyo. And, of course, we were meeting in World Cafe. This has just become the normal way to meet for so many people in Japan over the last year. The three hour meeting began with a very cautious kind of energy. It was also the first time this group had been together since the disasters started. By the time we closed, there was a real excitement in the room. I sensed in to what the excitement was really about. The image I shared was that the disasters have liberated us from a future we didn't want to have, AND the future is no longer something distant, it is here, now.
Now I am at Kiyosato with Mt Fuji on the horizon. A small group of...
Replies to This Conversation
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Permalink Reply by juanita brown on
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Thank you for this beautiful reflection Bob....blessings on your journey there.
Juanita
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Permalink Reply by Ria Baeck on
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I'm always looking out when you post something Bob. Great read - don't find this information in the normal newspapers!
(haven't checked, did you post on the AoH Ning too, on the blog?)
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Permalink Reply by Amy Lenzo on -
Thank you, Bob.
It sounds strange on the surface, but I feel a strong sense of cultural "blessing" coming out of this terrible disaster in Japan. The way people there are responding to the challenges in its wake is a testament to something wonderful and unbreakable in the human spirit. It makes me feel humble, and fiercely aligned with the rejuvenation and conscious rebuilding that is happening there in Japan. I look for how I might be of help in even small ways, and am grateful that you are finding those ways "on the ground".
Thank you for your work, and for serving as a communications link with our many friends in Japan. We appreciate you all so very much.
Amy
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Permalink Reply by Bob Stilger on -
Yes, there is something present here. And something new being worked. One conversation I was in recently we were talking about how people all over the world have learned the word "kambare" or kambaro -- which means something like persist, do your best.
Well, people in the Tohoku are pretty tired of hearing it, after a month. They're frozen in place and there is nothing they can do their best about, especially when trapped in a system of disaster response which treats them like helpless victims.
Interesting times...
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