Letter
from Japan by Jennifer Rodriquez
Jennifer Rodriguez is an American living in Japan
for 5 years. She is an ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language)
in Japan and a member of our community.This is what she had to say:
"Things are stressful here because of the
constant threat of radiation exposure but surprisingly the Japanese
are remaining calm and despite what the mass media abroad says, no
one is leaving en masse and people are facing the issue with a
philosophical calm that I believe can only be possible of a country
with a Buddhist background. There's no rioting, looting, nor anger
being expressed at the government. People here continue to have
faith and hope that the workers at the plant will find a way to cool
those reactors and avert nuclear disaster. And even with this big
threat looming in the background, the Japanese carry on with their
daily lives.
Being in Japan at this time and our connecting
has been a powerful
lesson for me about believing and manufacturing optimism for
yourself even when all evidence points to there being no hope and
all logic seems to say you should lose hope. I'm still in Tokyo
despite pleas from my family and friends to get out, because I
believe that all will turn out well in the end and I'm very
hopeful. I continue to believe and I believe the Universe sends me
small messages not to lose hope.
There are food shortages but somehow the
supermarkets are still finding some way to get us fresh fish,
vegetables and meat every day. How? I don't know. It's almost
like they pull it out of thin air. Just when you think the food is
going to run out, the next day they scrouge up some more from
somewhere. It just goes to prove that the Universe is really an
abundant place even in the face of disaster!
Do you know what could really help in this
moment? If you rounded up all the members of your community and
formed a special prayer circle to send energy and inspiration to all
the workers at the Fukushima Power Plant that they persevere and
find a way to cool those reactors and avert disaster. Visualize
Japan ending this threat safely and without horrible consequences.
See Japan as a happy country with the threat gone.
I honestly believe that if you and all the
conscious people of this planet did that, then some solution would
present itself to the workers or arrive in some shape or form.
The more positive collective energy we
could get for Japan, the more it would help improve the situation
and counterbalance all the negativity and sensationalism of the
General Media which has just been shamelessly promoting panic and
desperation about Japan.
The more spiritual leaders with communities such
as yourself that you could contact and have them visualize and pray
for a safe end to this threat, the more possibility of a better
outcome. Then that would be wonderful and give the situation more
positive power.
....This is not for me but for the country of
Japan and consequently the world at large. If workers at
that plant do not receive any kind of special help, they will not be
able to continue forward and find a solution. Many of them have
exposed themselves to unsafe levels of radiation and there's no
doubt that at some point, they will contract cancer and die. Yet
they even though they know this, they selflessly devote themselves
to concentrating on the task at hand and have accepted the risk of
sacrificing their lives because they know that all humanity is at
risk if they do not persevere.
....I actually feel more positive about this
situation and even though, it seems grim now, I have honest hope and
faith that all will turn out in the end and this situation will end
safely. In part that's why I choose to stay and not run away. I
have faith." ~ Jennifer