Music by The Refusers

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A Letter From Sendai, Japan‏

I received this letter from a friend in Canada who received it from a friend of a friend.  I thought I would share it on my blog.  There is a comment about North America which might be asked of European readers also.   I cannot vouch for the validity of it or if it is indeed a true story, but believe that it is worth a read.  All that I will add is my best wishes to all the survivors of this tragic event.  Here is the letter in it's entirety as received:

Received this from a friend of a friend.  It's pretty illuminating.  I can't help but wonder if this happened to us in North America if we would act with such calmness and compassion as is being demonstrated here.  Hhhhmmm... I wonder.  Some learning here.  M

From my cousin ____________ in Sendai, Japan where she has lived for the past decade teaching English. Very moving!!

Hello My Lovely Family and Friends,

First I want to thank you so very much for your concern for me. I am very touched. I also wish to apologize for a generic message to you all. But it seems the best way at the moment to get my message to you.

Things here in Sendai have been rather surreal. But I am very blessed to
have wonderful friends who are helping me a lot. Since my shack is even
more worthy of that name, I am now staying at a friend's home. We share
supplies like water, food and a kerosene heater. We sleep lined up in one room, eat by candlelight, share stories. It is warm, friendly, and beautiful.

During the day we help each other clean up the mess in our homes. People sit in their cars, looking at news on their navigation screens, or line up to get drinking water when a source is open. If someone has water running in their home, they put out sign so people can come to fill up their jugs
and buckets.

Utterly amazingly where I am there has been no looting, no pushing in
lines. People leave their front door open, as it is safer when an
earthquake strikes. People keep saying, "Oh, this is how it used to be in the old days when everyone helped one another."

Quakes keep coming. Last night they struck about every 15 minutes. Sirens
are constant and helicopters pass overhead often.
We got water for a few hours in our homes last night, and now it is for
half a day. Electricity came on this afternoon. Gas has not yet come on.

But all of this is by area. Some people have these things, others do not.
No one has washed for several days. We feel grubby, but there are so much
more important concerns than that for us now. I love this peeling away of
non-essentials. Living fully on the level of instinct, of intuition, of caring, of what is needed for survival, not just of me, but of the entire group.  


There are strange parallel universes happening. Houses a mess in some
places, yet then a house with futons or laundry out drying in the sun.

People lining up for water and food, and yet a few people out walking
their dogs. All happening at the same time.

Other unexpected touches of beauty are first, the silence at night. No
cars. No one out on the streets. And the heavens at night are scattered
with stars. I usually can see about two, but now the whole sky is filled.

The mountains are Sendai are solid and with the crisp air we can see them
silhouetted against the sky magnificently.

And the Japanese themselves are so wonderful. I come back to my shack to
check on it each day, now to send this e-mail since the electricity is on,
and I find food and water left in my entranceway. I have no idea from
whom, but it is there. Old men in green hats go from door to door checking
to see if everyone is OK. People talk to complete strangers asking if they
need help. I see no signs of fear. Resignation, yes, but fear or panic,
no.

They tell us we can expect aftershocks, and even other major quakes, for another month or more. And we are getting constant tremors, rolls, shaking, rumbling. I am blessed in that I live in a part of Sendai that is
a bit elevated, a bit more solid than other parts. So, so far this area is
better off than others.  Last night my friend's husband came in from the
country, bringing food and water. Blessed again.

Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed
an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world
right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now
in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide. My brother asked me if I
felt so small because of all that is happening. I don't. Rather, I feel as
part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of
birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.

Thank you again for your care and Love of me,


 





2 comments:

Magnus said...

Thanks for sharing this...

When thinking about this, isn't it remarkable, how in the middle of what all of us people fear most - the fear of loosing our homes, security and maybe our job that natural disasters might bring - but still, know when that has happened, the person in this letter share a view of inner peace, of living in the moment, and how people are taking care of each other - family and neighbours and be helpful and loving to strangers... If natural disasters make us (i.e mankind) to wake up to what maybe is the most essential in our dwelling on this planet - caring for each other and see each other as our loving friends, maybe that is something very positive lesson we can learn from it? Just a thought...

Stranger in a Strange Land said...

Hello Magnus:

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. We never really know how we will reaction in a natural disaster. Sometimes it can bring out the worst in humanity and sometimes the best. I suppose that these events test our moral fiber and bring us into contact with an inner strength and goodness that we didn't know that existed until we are tested in the fire.

We can only hope that something good comes out of this tragedy. It is not easy to be a survivor knowing that your loved ones and friends and colleges are no longer with you. It is a great sadness that one must rise above for the moment aand see to the survival of oneself and the community.

I can not speak for these dear Japanese people but can only offer them my well wishes and prayers.

As I watched the news, I thought that I hope that people wake up to the dangers of nuclear power and come to their senses and demand a ban on all such power plants. Here in Sweden there are plans to build 10 more when the ones here are riddled with problems and often offline. What Madness. Your government has already started damage control with the proproganda from high level politicians. What is curious to me is why the Helliburton Whore, Maud O. is not out. After that company reportedly stole hundreds of billions of taxpayer money to do construction projects in Afganistan that they never did , after which I believe this money is what they used to buy up many Swedish companies and other subsidaries worldwide. They are the ones behind this building of new nuclear plants worlwide and it's turns out our Township has invested heavily in these new plants. So, they are still stealing our social funds and pension funds to do their dirty business and no one sees or dares to look.

My hope is that people wake up worldwide and say, "No to Nuclear".

Take care,
Mike