A Changed Man: A year after the great Tsunami

        “One is not defeated by a great struggle of life; instead, one is defeated if he ceased on living”. I do not know where this phrase came from or was it just a product of watching movies or reading novels, but I do know that this was the summary of what I have gotten out of the SINTAP Experience. A year ago, I am just a viewer who watched the tsunami that hit Japan on television. It is an experience where, in some way, you just sit there and do nothing. I wanted to do something, but the question is how? I wanted to be a part of something that could make a change – even just a small, simple yet meaningful change. A few days after, I got a call saying that i'll be staying for two (2) years in Japan. Could this be it, the significant change that I long to do? Now I am ready to go to Japan with a simple thought of making a significant difference.

     The thought of making a significant change excites me. A change of uplifting other people's burdens, seeing them smile and having a joyful spirit kept me on looking forward to this day. SINTAP created that opportunity for me to realize such a simple dream. However, that was not the case. Instead of I creating a significant change, It changed me. Change in a sense of seeing my perspective in a different light - a change of self and purpose.

           March 5 - 8, 2012, almost a year after the tsunami incident that hit Japan, ICU SINTAP group went to Oshima Island, Kesennuma, Japan to lend a hand. We volunteered to help unload stuff that has been washed away by the tsunami, hear stories of the survivors and even play with school children. One of the activity that we had was to interview families and hear them tell stories of their life after the tragedy. Our group was assigned to interview the Komatsu family in a temporary shelter meeting room.

           Interviewing Mr. Komatsu gave me a thought to ponder. After the tsunami, Mr. Komatsu said that he seems to have no aim or purpose at all. It was only after joining Obakatai that he sensed his purpose – that is to help others. It is unheard of to see people who were the victim and yet are able to help build and motivate others in putting their feet back together. For a man, who lost everything – a home, a job and a purpose – gathering enough courage to stand up and help is the greatest inspiration. It inspired me not to wait for an opportunity to appear but instead to create that opportunity. Not to wait for others to help you stand but for you to try to stand up on your own. It does not mean that they were not struggling inside, nor the pains were already gone. Instead, they replaced those struggles with optimism, hope and love. One Zulu proverb says “A person is a person because of people”. Mr. Komatsu became a man of purpose because of people. He became a true person because of people that surrounds him that needs his service and people that have the same heart as he does – the volunteers. He had an opportunity to stay with his children in Sendai, but he chose to go back. Mr. Komatsu never ceased on living his life, on what he believes in and on what he does. This is what makes a person, person.

          One of my favorite quotes is of Thomas Merton: "If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live, or what I like to eat, or how I comb my hair, but ask me what I think I am living for and ask me what is keeping me from living fully for the things I want to live for. Between these 2 answers, you can determine the identity of the person. The better answer he has, the more a person he is - I have all the time trying to make the answer as I go on living." I believe that Mr. Komatsu is living his life fully for the things he wanted to live for.

         A former owner of a sushi restaurant, Mr. Komatsu was asked about the comparison of his sushi with the rest of sushi restaurants in the island. “Mine were the best”, he exclaimed. One thing struck me was the next sentence that he said. “All sushi are the same, but what makes it best is when it is made from the heart”. I took that phrase in a different light. It may sound foolish of me to interpret such a simple sentence in a totally different manner. I never saw it as a sentence that talks about sushi alone. Rather, I took it as words from Mr. Komatsu's life's journey - full of wisdom and truth. The volunteers came from different parts of the world. Volunteers who has the passion to help, serve and create a significant change. Although we came from different backgrounds, beliefs, struggles and point of views, like the sushi, we are all the same. We are in this group for a purpose of helping and uplifting people's lives. What makes us best is the sincerity and pureness of our hearts. That's what makes this experience a memorable one - an experience of victory over downfall, joy over pain, life over death. Before Mr. Komatsu bid us farewell, he had spoken to me and said “make your sushi from your heart and continue to smile, it helps”.

           I remember the boys of Room 231 sang the song “Sakura” by Naotaro Moriyama. In such a short time, like the sakura, the experience has to end. It seems that three (3) days were not enough. I wanted to stay longer in order for me to know more about the lessons of life. Furthermore, I wanted to grasp the wisdom that I could get from the stories of people's lives and to deepen friendships with fellow volunteers.

       To end, I stumbled upon a japanese drama series that featured the song “Sakura”. In one of the episodes, the actress/actor read a poem entitled “Be not defeated by the rain” (this was the english translation).

Be not defeated by the rain;

Be not defeated by the wind.

Succumb not to the snows of winter,

Not be bested by the heat of summer.

Be strong in body. Unfettered by desire.

Not enticed to anger. Cultivate a quiet joy.

Count yourself last in everything. Put others before you.

Watch well and listen closely. Hold the learned lessons dear.

Go forth and nurse him to health.

Go forth and relieve her of burden.

Go forth with words of courage to dispel his fear.

Go forth and beg them to stop such a waste of effort and of the spirit.

In times of drought, shed tears of sympathy.

In summer's cold, walk in concern and sympathy.

Better be dismissed as humbled, than flattered as a great man.

This is my goal, the person I strive to become.