Life Lessons

Japanese Life Lesson #1 - More luggage than hands does not make for easy travel.
2 adults, 2 kids, 1 dog, two dog carriers (hard & soft) 2 car seats, one stroller, five suitcases, one guitar, and three backpacks – oh my! At least the fancy luggage carts were free. If only Matthew was tall enough to push one of them we wouldn’t have had to pile it all precariously onto just two. Praise Buddha for the graciousness and infinite patience of the Japanese. Should my children pick up anything from this mostly overcast, usually windy, yet somehow still beautiful country - please let it be their gift of selfless hospitality.

Japanese Life Lesson #2 – You Americans, as a whole, just don’t get it.
In Italy, this was lesson #1. Then we returned to the states and managed to get caught up in the rush. Upon our arrival to Japan we were, most gratefully, smacked over the head with the truth yet again. Don’t get me wrong, I think the majority of us really, really want to “get it” – I certainly do. But c’mon, aren’t we proud to be an American, where at least we know we’re free, yada, yada? From childhood we’re told to be grateful we have it better than everyone else and somehow that morphs into the thought that we ARE better than everyone else. We base our quality of life on the size of our cars and how far we have to drive to Starbucks. We live in our little bubble, concerned only about what happens inside of it. I implore you; break free from that tiny bubble and you’ll see this world has so much more to offer than lattes and Super Walmarts. And you don’t even have to cross the border to do it.

Japanese Life Lesson #3 - Generalizations suck.
Amen!