Today, I was told I am UnAustralian.
Why? you may ask?
It seems that the opinion of this person is that I am blessed enough to be born in the best country in the world, so why would I ever want to go to live in a place that has, in their history, been in conflict with our wonderful nation. They went on to be quite damning in their opinion of Japan as a whole, which all seemed to be based around actions that took place nearly 80 years ago.
My instinctual reaction was defensive. How dare you judge me! And that response has merit. This person is an acquaintance. They don't know my motivations, my history, my hopes and dreams. All they know is that I have transplanted my life, choosing to spend my time in a foreign country, rather than my homeland. Secondly, I thought, How dare you judge a whole nation on actions that took place a lifetime ago. My experiences in Japan have shown me that the people are kind, patient, so considerate and always willing to go out of their way to help in any way they can.
I thought on this for a while today. I now feel a bit of sadness for this person. Sadness, because it is this closed mindset that creates difficulties for people to come together. Grudges held against entire nations for actions that happened before any of the current workforce were born. Anger kept alive, but for what purpose?
It is my opinion that we, as citizens of an ever shrinking world, need to look past our own nation's borders, look past our cultural bias, move past our comfort zone, and endeavour to understand that people are people. No matter what country, nationality, colour or language, people ultimately want and need the same basic things the world over.
We need love, compassion, connection, and we need a sense of purpose. These things unite us as citizens of the world. How great would our world be, if we were able to truly look past our differences, and focus on what unites us. Imagine that world for our children, and their children. The thought of it makes me smile.
I do love Australia, and I am proud to be Australian. But, I believe we can learn so much from other cultures. Not just language, though, of course, that is an amazing benefit. But we can learn that our way is not the only way, nor is it the right way. It is just what we are used to. We can learn to view things from another perspective, from another point of view. This is an invaluable skill for problem-solving, conflict resolution, and innovation. We can learn tolerance, and patience. We can learn how to do life differently. And last, but certainly not least, we can live a life where we have adventures.
This time in Japan is my latest adventure, and I am so happy to be taking hold of opportunities that come my way.