Fukoshima
Everyday there are new events that claim front page headlines in our news papers and yet the events of the past are not necessarily resolved just because we don’t hear about them anymore. The effects of the March Earthquake/Tsunami and Fukoshima is a case in point. We don’t hear about the people who still have no homes to live in, no family alive, no livelihood. Over 1.7 million people are still seriously affected by the radiation fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi reactor. How quickly we forget. I was privileged to hear how many people are managing. One woman told me her husband, an engineer is working in Fukoshima with little or no concern for his own well being. Another amazing woman told me how deeply she wants to be of help and offers counselling to the residents on a regular basis. All my participants soke of the ongoing pain and indeed shame they carry every day. There is frustration with the government and especially with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
One of the things I was told before I left by my teacher John the Beloved was that Japan is a country that has tried through centuries to be honourable and to always follow a certain code that it believed demonstrated that honour.
They totally accepted responsibility for the disaster. And everyone felt very happy to blame them for the disaster. Can we really blame one people, one nation for the events that impact the world. I think not. Surely we all need to look into our own hearts and see how we have all participated in the creation of the world as it is right now. We may not have consciously causes the earthquake but we can ask ourselves what is the earth shaking her head about. What are we ignoring? What are we resisting?
What we have not appreciated is that the gift these souls in the Japan have demonstrated is the true meaning of community. Even before the government organised anything the people of Japan responded immediately with food and water, clothing and shelter. I received a letter last year from a friend whose had a friend living in Sendai. Here is that letter.
A Letter From Sendai
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 a sign so people can come to fill up their jugs and buckets.
It’s utterly amazingly that 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,
With Love in return, to you all,
Anne
How many disasters have you heard of where there was no looting, no betrayal of each other. The people in the towns and cities were quick to help those devastated and destroyed both financially and through food. In face before the government stepped forward the people did it for themselves.
What an extraordinary example of community. Com- Unit -Living Together as One. As a Global community we would do well to learn from our Japanese brothers and sisters