The Japanese are not only showing their hardiness and resilience in good times, they are also showing these exceptional characteristics in the worst of times in one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded which also spawned a deadly tsunami that slammed into the small island nation, leaving a huge swath of devastation in its wake. They have also shown their abilities to bloom beautifully and gracefully just like the Vanda Miss Joaquim. The recent calamity did not put the affected areas into a state of chaos and in fact the Japanese has remained calm in handling and facing the situation; they have given all of us a very valuable lesson.

It can be challenging enough for some to maintain their composures during good times, not to mention during times like what the Japanese are going through now. They have not only continue to display an air of gracefully in their daily lives but have also extended their hands to others who are affected.

Many have truly risen to the occasion as a report by Associated Press. I am truly touched to read all the stories of people going beyond their own sufferings to make life better for others.

A lesson on “initiative” from Students in Karakuwa, who are bringing buckets of water from the school swimming pool to give survivors the dignity of a proper flush. Another lesson on unconditional sharing: “For a long time, in the countryside, even if you didn’t have enough for yourself, you shared with others,” said Noriko Sasaki, 63.

In another article by Hiroko Yoda in cnngo.com, she wrote:

Everywhere I go, I see people helping and encouraging each other, even total strangers. The outpouring of support and sympathy, especially in a metropolis filled with people who normally keep to themselves, has been astounding.

At my local supermarkets, prices have been lowered to help customers, who politely line up and pay without panic or complaint.

Hiroko also reported that in a broadcast interview with students by NHK, one of the students said, “We want to tell everyone living in shelters like us to stay strong,” and another said, “We’ll rebuild Japan together.” These are words from junior high schoolers, many of whom have yet to make contact with their families.

Lastly in the report by Associated Press, the Japanese has taught me the most valuable lesson on Gratitude:

At the school in Karakuwa, 43-year-old Emi Yoshida reads a book, still wearing the same clothes she had on the day the tsunami roared into town. She has not showered in a week and longs for a bed. Still, she is grateful for the comfort the community has provided her and her two sons.

A friend shared this in her Facebook profile a few days back and I thought I will share this with you. Something to ponder on over the weekend. Actually it came at the right time when I was thinking of posting something on failure.

I believe that most of us had suffered failures at several points in our lives; although we may not remember all of them. Do You Remember How You Learned to Walk?

Even before you were trying to learn and walk, didn’t you fall down on your bum first? And for me, the first time when I was learning to swim, I almost drowned. Did you almost drown too? The first bicycle ride, I had bad bruises on my knees. Did you have bruises from bicycle ride too?

Something from the Dark Knight, “Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” Such simple and straightforward truth. More often than not, we have made things complicated through our thoughts and analysis. Should we have just learnt from our lessons and moved on. Do we allow ourselves to fall and then not picking ourselves up?

Thomas Alva Edison did not learn to talk until he was almost four years old and in school, his mind often wandered, and his teacher, the Reverend Engle, was overheard calling him “addled.” And that was the end of official schooling for him.

And yet he went on to become an American inventor, scientist and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world. Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France and Germany (Wikipedia).

Michael Jordan was cut from the varsity team because he was deemed too short to play at that level. He said, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Did we just miss how many times Thomas Edison and Michael Jordan had fallen before they raised to greatness? I used to think that they shot to success until I realized how many times they had picked themselves up every time they fell down. As the saying goes, “the greatest glory is not in never falling but picking ourselves up every time we fall.”