A shining example

Dr Fahim Chand | Monday August 8, 2022 06:00

The white a representation of purity and honesty. Collectively present on a flag, they represent Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun.

Home to the guardians of Japanese culture, the geisha, cherry blossoms, Mount Fuji and innovators of some of the world’s most important technological advances.

I have not had the pleasure of visiting this great nation, but it certainly does possess an elevated position on my bucket list. Fortunately my invitations, of which I am grateful, to the various Japanese embassy functions have allowed me the opportunity to not only enjoy the mouth watering cuisine of this illustrious nation, but also to experience its unique culture. Japanese are refined, punctual and polite.

For centuries having been taught from a young age, following Shinto religious beliefs, that they need to be responsible to their families, country and to serve the needs of others before their own.

Indeed it is this unique upbringing that has punctuated our global history with Japan’s episodic entry into the spotlight. It is at these moments that the rest of the world stands back and marvels as the Japanese lead the way and provide a shining example for the rest of us to follow.

As the euphoria of the 2018 football World Cup in Russia raged on, Japan provided a unique moment that deservedly elicited the loudest cheer of all. A standing ovation would certainly have been appropriate. You see the Japanese fans, known as the Samurai Blue, astonished the world when after Japan beat Columbia 2-1 for their first triumph over a South American nation, stayed back and armed with their own trash bags made their way through the rows picking up rubbish. While their team had swept Colombia off the pitch, the Samurai Blue had done their own sweeping and left the stadium as neat as they found it. And in doing so, taught the rest of the world an important life lesson.

Part of our core DNA has programmed humans to flourish. We can define human flourishing as the process where we harness and nurture our innate capacities to be well. By and large we are injected into the world with a propensity for kindness, goodness and awareness, but we have to nurture these qualities to flourish.

While we are all endowed with these qualities, it is important to acknowledge that each of us begins in a different place and lives within diverse contexts.

Different constraints operate in each person’s life and how we respond to them is influenced by how we are raised and the communities in which we reside. Much of the focus on research into emotional well-being is directed at the individual and yet one of the key insights into contentedness is the importance of interdependence.

The recognition that our well-being impacts the well-being of others and is itself affected by the well-being of the community. Would it then not make sense for each of us to donate an hour or two of our time periodically for the betterment of our community? While the modern world has helped nurture the concept of the individual and the pursuit of self-gratifying goals, it is as a bonded whole can we make lasting and significant changes. As the world forges ahead with continued industrialisation and the pursuit of the almighty buck, with nary a thought of the consequences, the environment lies in ruins. Deforestation has endangered individual species and reduced biodiversity.

Predictions suggest 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost per day due to rainforest deforestation. With the loss of species also comes the potential loss of cures for life threatening illnesses. An incredible 30-45% of Amazon species could be lost by 2030. But even in the deepest darkest rainforest night, a single firefly can lead the way. Environmental volunteering where people can volunteer for a single day, or a lifetime, to better the environment is on the rise. Organisations such as Greenpeace, Flipgrid, Sierra Club amongst many others allow individuals or groups to coordinate conservation activities and share experiences.

Charitable organisations such as the United Way, Doctors Without Borders and even our own local Caring Touch help to cure the sick and feed and house the destitute.

Surely whatever divinely catalysed magic show that conjured humanity into reality, had more in mind than our selfish destruction of all that lies before us. We must have been placed here for a more noble purpose. Is this really all that difficult to fathom? It is in our shared humanity that we are compelled to act and help when we see the starving and hopeless, as we ourselves grate the herbed truffle mushrooms over our medium rare steak.

While it may seem to be innately obvious that making the effort to better the community forms a positive feedback loop that continues these noble actions to elevate the status and well-being of more and more individuals, maybe the stresses of everyday life blind us to these possibilities. It is the selfless acts of Japan’s Samurai Blue and Caring Touch’s donation of a dwelling to a destitute individual that remind us of our higher purpose. Save a tree or a life today.