Friends and Family,
I trust this email finds you all well as we all move through a very hectic and busy spring. As most of you know I am currently in Japan on a ten day Global Immersion Program through the Bellermine College of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount. It is the culmination of a class I took this past semester, Transpacific Japan, which looks at the transnational aspects of the Japanese American community and how transnational identities impact and alter our worldview and experiences. The class has taken a historians perspective as we have sought to contextualize the current state of the Japanese American community with its past and community formation. As a History major and Asian Pacific American Studies minor I have found this class to be a deeply enriching academic experience as it has allowed me to combine both disciplines in a new and engaged context.
Flying in to Haneda airport I spent some time thinking about the forces that have put me on this academic trajectory. I feel that trajectory is an important word to consider here. Perhaps my favorite quote from Dr. King, and one that was on the Obama Oval Office Carpet, is that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice”. The notion that change and progress is a gradual, slow, and yet somewhat paradoxically inevitable process I feel is an important point to remember. Our lives each take different paths, with different ends and means. Yet many of us consciously make decisions to intensify the rate of curvature of the arc of the moral universe. As a student of Jesuit university, immersed in a community of peoples who sincerely wish to make the world a more just and equitable place, learning how to actualize this process is a critical component of my education. For me personally I found myself considering this quite deeply somewhere over the Aleutian Islands. I was reminded of Marvin Gaye’s Save the Children where he asks "who really cares to save a world that is destined to die?" The inequity, divisiveness, and tragedy of the last several years has been galvanizing for many and in the context of my undergraduate education this has certainly been the case.
I came to LMU inspired by the idea of being a man with and for others wanting to work for the justice of all of ones neighbors (see the work of Father Pedro Aruppe). LMU has afforded me numerous opportunities to fulfill this yearning. Service opportunities, undergraduate research, and the equally transformative experience of being team captain this year have all afforded me excellent opportunities to be the individual I realized I wanted to become at the end of high school. This course and trip are perhaps the most honest and sincere expression of this vision. Uniting the academic with the even more enriching experience of exploration and dialogue allows us to recognize and perhaps shift the trajectory of the universe, and perhaps our own lives in the process, for the better.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to speak with members of the group Women’s Eye a non profit based in Tohoku that seeks to empower female community leaders to see how they are trying to alter similar trajectories. Formed after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami they seek to empower women leaders in the region affected by the disaster. What I found to be most powerful about their work is that they very cognitively look to maintain a very grassroots approach to the social revolution they are undertaking. Their local strategy helps them remain connected to their local communities while addressing the needs of all people. Equally important is the fact that in a deeply patriarchal society they look to elevate the voices and perspectives of women. The name of their organization “Women's Eye” highlights this point as they seek to offer a women's perspective. This deliberate choice to feature the voices and ideas of strong women leaders is something that I think we can all learn from, as all to often it seems that we refuse to acknowledge the often more complex and thoughtful perspectives of half our global population.
One of the interesting things that the organizations leadership discussed in our session with them is how instrumental transnational programs sponsored by the US Japan Council have been in the growth of their program and the development of their leaders. These programs have helped connect female leaders to a broader global community of impactful women helping create a space and network in which they can safely reimagine their experiences and the context of their events. These programs play a fundamental role helping these women learn, inspire, and replicate. Such transnational programs are very important to consider in a time where there is a steady assault on globalization. An interesting argument I heard this past semester was that looking at the history of California, one can argue that by the 19th century California was transnational before it was national because well before it ever became a state it was a pivotal piece on the eastern rim of the transpacific economy. This history, as well as numerous others, demonstrates that similar global connections are inherently part of our international framework. Isolationism may make sense as it pertains to global conflict, but in a modern world it is important not to forget the role that dynamic transnational connections can play in healing the social fracture of todays world. As we joked over lunch, this trip and conversation is what “Putting America First” really looks like.
It was also very interesting to see how cultural practices and values were a critical component of Women’s Eye's work. The earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster in 2010 left indelible community scars leaving a great deal or regional trauma in its path. In a series of workshops recently Women’s Eye has been using a variety of cultural healing methods including both Zen meditation and crystal singing bowls to free both the body and mind from the cumbersome burden of revitalizing a community. This ought to be considered in greater depth, especially since as they mentioned, all life, not just human life, was affected by the disaster. Understanding the connectedness of all things is part of the way in which they are reimagining their lived experiences by bringing them closer to their fellow disaster victims and the physical space which they inhabit encouraging them through a reframing of their situation and problems. Indeed even their location of their center demonstrates how central understanding the connectedness of all living beings is. Located in an old elementary school nestled into the side of hill in a mountainous rural community, the Women’s Eye center seems to literally embrace their environment and natural world. The meal that was prepared for us as well was truly a meal made with love from someones backyard garden, with the curry spices blended and prepared in order to help make sure that none of us would get sick while traveling in a cool damp climate after a long plane flight only the day before.
As of late I have read of a great deal of the Franciscan Richard Rhor’s work, who, has a Franciscan fundamentally stresses the connection between the Divine and our natural world. In a talk I found of his he shared a story of Franciscan recluse who he came across on a walk in retreat at a monastery. He said that the recluse came up to him smiling recognizing who he was and said: “Richard! I don’t get to go out into the world and preach anymore but you do! So please just tell the people one thing! God is not out there!” he exclaimed pointing to the sky before abruptly continuing on his way. I feel that this is an important point to consider as our understanding of our natural world is often limited to binaries. Black/white, good/evil, liberal/conservative. Yet we often fail to see that this dualism reduces our understanding and ability to perceive our understanding of the world as it is and the meaning of each individuals experiences. The Jesuits have a mantra with a similar meaning: "Find God in All Things”. This ability to understand the world we live in as having some greater cosmic or spiritual connection is a profound point that might provide a great deal of guidance in our sometimes troubled navigations of daily life.
Women’s Eye's intention to reimagine the context in which we perceive our world is also important not only because it allows us to more carefully consider our world but simultaneously helps heal intense regional trauma. The efforts to free the minds and bodies of workshop participants helps Women leaders who may feel physically and emotionally exhausted draw strength and inspiration from their world and community making them feel a little less alone in severely patriarchal culture that often ignores their voices.
Currently I'm wiring from the bullet train en route Kyoto where we will spend the next three days exploring and getting to know the history and culture of the city. Kyoto is quite famous for its Buddhist temples and shrines and I am eager to explore these sacred sites and tease out their spiritual and cultural experiences, especially after seeing the impact and use of Buddhist values and practices. On a personal level these practices hit fairly close to home. For those who ado not know a lot about LMU Men’s rowing one of the things that we try to do is cultivate mindfulness and joy as a team prior to our practices and races using a variety of meditation techniques, exercises, and reflections. The opportunity to learn more about these spaces and the mindful meditative practices and traditions that they promote and pay homage to is something that I’m very excited for. (As a small aside on the bullet train it's worth mention that the speed at which it moves is enough to suck you off the platform because of the force and air displacement alone.
I’ll be the first to admit this email is quite long, and perhaps a little longer than most of you bargained for (kudos to those who hung on till the end). Academic discourse is often quite dense and having spent a lot of hours over the last three years reading scholars and being taught to write like one has made a little long winded. Writing this however has helped me think and consider the events of the past few days in a new way, and I hope that reading this has helped shed some light on aspects of your own experience and understanding of the world as well. If you can think of anyone else that might like to hear from me feel free to forward this email to them or send me their addresses! Thanks again for reaching out to me before I left to ask to be included in these mass updates! Below I’ve attached some photos from my trip thus far as well as some links and videos to some of the things I discussed and mentioned.
Magis,
Sam
Marvin Gaye - Save the Children
Women's Eye (Page is in Japanese but Google should offer a translate feature)
Richard Rohr
Becoming Stillness (Talk mentioned above)
Contemplative Prayer (A short ten minute guide to his conceptual approach)
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