Lessons to be learned

As the world is watching the consequences of the earthquake in Japan, there is but one people who is calm and focused despite a seemingly insurmountable disaster – the Japanese. Friends lost, families swept away, lovers torn apart, the suffering must be unimaginable – for us.

Yet, we hear of no looting, we hear of no violence or despair. We only hear about calm efforts to clean up all the sites of destruction, to count the losses, minimize the damages to come, and to start to look ahead and pick up life again as soon as possible.

What can we learn from this behaviour?

According to Eastern religions, whether it is Buddhism or Shinto, one is always asked to  look at oneself and being aware of one`s reactions, particularly in case of tragedies and adversities. There is no God or Allah to blame. Their belief asks them rather to cultivate over their life time the positive in oneself, action derived from thought. The healthy food the Japanese eat, consisting of raw vegetables, fish and seaweed, their tradition of different exercises to manipulate the flow of energy, and their attitude towards life itself have enabled them to be determined and strong in such a disaster.

Essential high blood pressure is the body`s reaction to the way we react to the outside world. It is not stress which is causing it, as I already outlined in “Is stress really the main reason for high blood pressure“, but the way we deal with emotions such as fear, frustration, disappointment, rejections, anxiety. Our reactions to our outside world are the leading causes for an unhealthy high blood pressure next to our diet.

We have to learn to develop is

1) a positive attitude towards ourselves and towards our lives in general, every day, no matter the circumstances. This does not mean to pretend something which is not there. It rather means to admit the emotions rushing through instead of “swallowing” them. It also means, to face the circumstances. Finally, it means to find a solution and get going, no matter what! Negativity is a modern disease! Get away from it!

2) a way to be calm, even if we face disaster. A good way of learning this is by conscious breathing exercises. See “10 counts to freedom“. Better even, learn how to meditate. Meditation is an inherent aspect in Japanese culture.

3) to nurture and feed our brain, our health, our being, whenever we can, to be prepared, to be capable of dealing with what is ahead. The challenges will become most probably bigger and not smaller, unless you want to lock yourself into a cottage somewhere in New Foundland.

4) to get help and to assist each other in a positive way, every day, every second. Do not sit on your emotions, find comfort, cry, write them down, but do not chew on them like a dog on an old bone. Unfortunately, most of us are brought up with the notion that rational thinking is more important than emotions thanks to Descartes and other philosophers. Men are not allowed to cry otherwise they are labeled “whims”. Emotions are in our society perceived as a weakness, period. This is in my opinion a reason why chronic diseases in general, but especially high blood pressure, is on the rise in the industrialised world. Guess what, we do have emotions and they do count as they determine who we are and how we act! We have to learn how to acknowledge them and deal with them, not suppress them!

The Japanese people have not learned all these admirable traits in one day. It took them a few thousand years. For us, it is never too late to start learning. Learning is always an effort, this is for sure, and you will face setbacks naturally, but keep on climbing up this mountain over your emotions, and your heart will thank you!

In sympathy with the population of Japan.

The next blogs will concentrate on dealing with each of our emotions including examples. Stay tuned!

I would really love to read your comments! Don`t be shy!

Love thy heart

Ginger