Somehow I missed the 6.7 earthquake at 6:50 this morning.  I was up and about getting ready for my day, but I didn’t feel it.  I think because I was in motion I wasn’t tuned into the shaking.  I’m not sure if it is a good thing or not.  I seem to feel every little shake when I’m laying on my bed or sitting in a chair.

The earth is still restless, and hasn’t wanted to calm down, yet. There is the back of everyone’s mind, especially mine, the big 8.0 aftershock that is very likely to come.  Until that big aftershock hits, and the ongoing nuclear disaster is one reason why we are still living through the crisis, we haven’t been able to look back on it as a past event, because we are still in the midst of the it all.

We are all a bit on edge, even though we might seem calm, we all know that there is the chance that everything could change in a flash.  We need to put those things that are truly important.  We need to spend time with our families.  We need to respect the awesome beauty and power of nature.  We need to be thankful for each and everyday that we are given.

After quite a number of small aftershocks last night, I was ready to have a peaceful day.  The weather was gorgeous at least.  I could rock a short sleeve shirt and be totally comfortable.

There was, as far as I could tell, only one smallish aftershock that happened between 9 and 10 a.m.  I was the only one who noticed that the ground was moving and the lights were swaying.  I guess my internal sense of balance is just ultra sensitive to the movement.  I don’t think I will ever get use to them, but I will, hopefully, learn to live with the aftershocks in some sort of harmony.

The walk back though my neighborhood was exceptionally pleasant today.  The air was cool and dry as the sun was quickly dropping to the horizon.  I could take pleasure in watching the light change its hues as it continued to race towards other worlds.  It was a great day, to look closely and let the bokeh (that beauty of having part of an image out of focus) come out and play.

As people all over the world ready and prepare to observe the feast of passover I decided that I would make matzoh from scratch for the first time.  Sometimes I truly am a stranger in a strange land, and I remember that my people were also strangers in a strange land.

With the earth continuing to shake, it has become even more important to me that I observe passover to the absolute best of my ability this year.  The desire to make some homemade matozh grew out of my own identity as a Jew of the tribe of Judah.

As the mixed multitude left Egypt under the leadership of Moses, I too wanted to remember those days, and to be a reminded of the many though out the world who are still in bondage.  Whether the bondage is physical or mental, I pray that all my brothers and sisters throughout the world too can taste real freedom.  And for those of us who are free, let us eat the matzoh, the bitter herbs and the roast lamb as a reminder to all the sacrifices that have been made, and the sacrifices to be made.

I wish all out there from the bottom of my heart a beautiful passover.  I also pray that all by brothers and sisters throughout the world that wish to be in Jerusalem may you be able to make the journey.

פסח שמח

Chag Pesach Same’ach

The day was absolutely gorgeous yesterday.  It was actually the first day, that wearing my fleece lined jacket was a little too much to be out and about.  I finished up what I was doing a bit early and took a stroll, in Narashino.  The wind was just howling.  Cherry Blossom petals filled the air, like pink spring snow.

The sprouting flowers were fighting the wind, moving too and fro in the pollenated air.  These little wonders seemingly so week, effortlessly were able to hold their ground.  They were flexible and strong enough to hold their ground.

I guess the point that I am getting at is that we too must be flexible as the earth shifts beneath our lives that we have built here in Tokyo.  If we are too rigid we will break.  If we are too flexible we will just be like a man-o-war floating where ever the waves take us.

The situation here has the ability to change in a second.  Our whole world could be thrown into the wind without any notice; therefore, I am trying to be flexible in my thoughts and actions.  I am looking to how nature will rebound from tragedy, and we too will rebound.

One Love

One Life

One Desitiny

Be safe in all you do.

Today I was reminded how alive the earth is in Japan.  The earth has been shaking with many aftershocks since 5pm yesterday.  I had a terrible sleep.  I awoke pretty much every time the earth moved.  There has been so much shaking that I am now suffering from Phantom Earthquake Syndrome.  I feel movement even when there isn’t any.

I was also reminded today that we have many brothers and sisters in the Tohoku region who are in danger with even more horrendous aftershocks,and not being provided with clear information from both TEPCO and the Japanese government.  I was clued in to remembering this as a scientist in the Tohoku region left a comment on my blog.

There is still much work to be done.  The sometimes wishy washiness of the decision making process here in Japan, can move at a snails pace.  My heart truly goes out to the people of the hardest hit areas.  As my wife likes to remind me here we have inconveniences but the people up north in Fukushima and Sendai have a mind boggling disaster to deal with.

My family went though hurricane Andrew in 1992 which the scale was terrible, but the loss of life was low, because people could be warned and were able to prepare.  Here in Japan, there was little to no time.

As I was walking home today, I noticed some more of the starflowers growing among the weeds at a construction site.  I was amazed at how those little guys could thrive on what looked like to me just concrete and dirt.  It was the flip side of everything else I experienced today.  It was again the reminder that spring has sprung.

So I ask of my family friends, and anyone else who comes across this blog.  Remember those people from Fukushima, Sendai, and the Tohoku region.  Keep them in your prayers and hearts.

There is a beautiful park in my neighborhood.  There are cherry blossom trees, a manmade hill that children slide down of pieces of cardboard, jungle gyms to climb on.  It really is a nice park.  But there is a little secret about the park.  The only reason that there is a park there is because of the huge power lines that are running over the park.

So rather than run from the power, and the man made I have decided to embrace the harmony.  The blossoms working in harmony with their man made wires.  The seemingly random fractal growth of the branches, intertwined with the straight and designed power lines.

On the one month anniversary of the great Tohoku-Kanto earthquake we were reminded with an aftershock of 7.1 magnitude that the power of the earth has not yet settled.  However, let us look to spring as a reminder that there is beauty outside.  There is manmade and there is the beauty that only the creator can make.  Sometimes the most thrilling of them is when they work in harmony with each other.

Stay safe

Stay blessed

Stay positive