Today I feel hopeful. So in love with this country that adopted me. I've met some great people in the last week and learned so many new things. New knowledge and facts are so inspiring and exciting. One of the best feelings in the world is when suddenly some of those jigsaw pieces you were struggling with for months, slide into place and make a picture that makes sense. Yet, even as the pieces shuffle themselves into small resolved areas, you know that the more you join up the bigger the jigsaw becomes.
Working as a team is what everyone knows Japan excels at and working as a team will be how the phoenix rises. A rabbit is born near the nuke plant without ears, a few brave souls from Tokyo return daily to the 30km danger no-go zone to rescue pets (police turn a blind eye); elsewhere rallies, lectures and support groups meet to share their frustrations and their news. This is the making of a new Japan. One that questions and shares.The good and the bad. No more polite lies.These are new days and everyone here feels an empathy, almost like a family bond having lived through this 3 fold disaster together.Instead of saying "hello where do you come from" the new greeting is "hello, where were you when the quake and tsunami happened?"
So much is happening on a local scale. Although it has been slow to arrive much is now starting to materialize. Not just broken roads and bridges being mended, but spirits and minds because hope heals and hope is here as people talk and share and act to make changes. Volunteer work is everywhere, everyone I know seems to be doing something, however small. Talking to my students and workers and speakers at the "Pray for Japan" lecture showed me how strong people are and how very determined to be happy, repair, clean up, move on.
Today is a good day for me, where I feel maybe just maybe the nuke plant beast can be tamed and houses can be built on higher land and nature can somehow repair the ghastly wasted coast land and it can be beautiful again. Rainy season is late, giving a precious few extra days of good weather to the plant workers to remove and decontaminate radioactive water that is building up. Rain sets them right back, but with this small delay and sunny weather a few steps forward have been made. Of course, nothing is over yet, things could still get worse, much worse....prayers of all kinds are still needed that another huge quake or terrible weather doesn't delay plans to seal the plant and that the workers that have worked so hard and risked their lives for us are going to be okay.
Yes, tomorrow and what it may bring is unknown, but please, luck/"un" has to be with us soon, and stay a while.........please.
