Yuriage: Touching the Universe Locally

This year on the evening of March 11, Yuriage held a commemorative Ceremony of Lights. Over 2000 paper lanterns lined walkways and beaches, and wound their way around the ruins of the local middle school. These points of hope seemed to mark the path of the ravenous tsunami four years before. Every light honored a soul lost in that disaster.

             

(remains of a tsunami-damaged fence)

As I watched the long curving line of memory, my thoughts touched this area with incredible love and admiration. But then my mind and heart began to expand wider and deeper. My prayers were born here, but then grew to embrace those lost in every natural disaster past, now, and to come. 

They then stretched even further to encompass those killed in wars or accidents, those murdered by the hand of another, or by their own. I became acutely aware that tragedy spares no one. And that prayers should not be limited to only one group or another. Especially in this age of confusion and desperate searching, our supplications should include the entire human family.

               

I am rooted and deeply connected to Tohoku Japan. I have lived here long and have experienced profound beauty and tragedy in this region. And precisely because of my commitment to this one area, I am able to reach beyond it. I feel myself called upon to widen my concerns, joys, and love to embrace the entire earth and to honor the humanness of each person on it. Tragedy and suffering are everywhere. But so is the dynamic of hope, care, rebuilding, and the opportunity for us humans to evolve, thanks to every error and positive contribution we make.

(respectfully listening to taiko drums)

The lights of the world weave their way along the routes of what transforms us. These lanterns, lit specifically for Tohoku, seem to point beyond this region and to symbolize each and every one of us worldwide. The work of transforming humanity is tremendous. But our lights make one path, albeit long and circuitous. Our work must be together, or not at all.

   

 
Love,
Anne