The Amalgam
I had a reader recently ask when I was going to share something from our trip to the Far East. Yes, I do have a reader. So don’t act so surprised. I actually have two if you include my wife …
But back to the Far East, which by the way we traveled West to get to.
The most astonishing thing was the difference in culture between us and the Japanese. I began to notice it before we even left the U.S. of A. The Japanese people are humble. They are a service oriented society and do their best to achieve perfection in everything that they do. This desire for excellence, and courtesy and honor are the foundations to their culture and it is visible in almost every action they perform.
We flew on Japan Air Lines from San Diego to Tokyo, and it was there that I got my first view of Japanese culture. The ticketing agent was exacting, making sure that there was no fault with our travel documents and that we were boarding the appropriate flight. She checked our baggage. Thoroughly double checking herself as she went along. When she finally finished heaving the bags onto the conveyor she turned back to me and offered me the baggage claim checks by setting them in her outstretched palms with her head slightly bowed as if she were presenting me with an incredible gift.
Which, she was in a way. She was providing me with the ability to ‘claim’ our baggage some 5,600 miles and twelve hours later. A gift we were glad to accept!
Every action is performed with that same level of humility, desire to serve and attention to detail. When we arrived in Tokyo (Narita International) one of the busiest airports in the world, one of the first things you notice is how clean and well maintained everything is. And you notice this IMMEDIATELY.
What I didn’t notice for several days, is that there are no public trash cans. (They were removed in all public places following the Sarin nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subways in 1995.) Ever since, the Japanese have practiced the ‘If you take it in; then you take it out’, philosophy when it comes to litter. Seeing this, it made me wonder, when I thought of the USA and our plethora of trash receptacles: Do trash cans create trash?
So now that you know that there are no public trash receptacles in Japan, you are probably wondering what that has to do with Roscoe and this story.
Humility is the answer.
The Bible speaks incessantly about the desirable trait of being humble while eschewing pride. While certainly not Christians, who comprise just a little over 2% of the population, the Japanese have certainly mastered the art of humility. In fact it is almost impossible for them to tell you ‘No’. On our final day in Japan, we went down to the hotel Concierge and asked if our driver would be able to pull directly into the hotel courtyard to load our baggage? The answer was “No.” due to security concerns, but the Concierge just could not make the dreaded word pass his lips. He told us in probably thirteen different variations; “Yes, your driver can load your baggage in the street.” But he never, ever, said “No.”
So anyway back to being humble.
When we start out in life, we are pretty much a blank canvas we have some personality of our own, usually stubbornness or maybe that desirable quality of being a ‘happy baby’. The first people to ‘imprint’ themselves upon us are our parents and most likely our extended family. We unconsciously adopt their speech styles, customs and even mannerisms.
It’s probably not until we reach young adulthood that our true self begins to take shape. We leave our family nest and enter the world of the adult. We go to college, or join the military, or begin a career or learn a trade. It is in these first sojourns that the first ‘real’ outside influences begin to imprint themselves upon us. Even reading will shape us. The Bible has shaped many of us.
Speaking for myself, I am nowhere near the same person I was when I graduated from high school back in 1973. Along the way I have been in contact with thousands of people who have left their mark on me in one way or another.
In my interactions with those people I have observed favorable characteristics or traits that I liked and thought valuable. So I would mimic, or adopt them. Other characteristics maybe not so favorable, I might realize were also a part of me, and I would cast them away. So by the time I reached middle age, I have gone through several metamorphoses. I am not the same person I started out as, I am an ‘Amalgam’ a collection of behaviors, knowledge and experiences.
You have as well. None of us progresses through life without change. We all change for good or ill.
Looking back, I always seemed to cherish the more humble people that came and went in my life. Through them, I learned to listen more, and talk less. They taught me to do your best to never think too much of yourself. That is a battle for me sometimes! And always, always try to be a positive and helpful person.
For example, I began referring to people as ‘Commander’ after I witnessed another man (twenty years my senior) in Jacksonville, Florida calling myself and other co-workers by this title. In saying that, he elevated us above himself. I recall, it made me feel good, like I was just a little more important that I had been just a minute before.
The humble person treats others as better than himself. He pays attention to the names of people who wait on him in restaurants and uses their name to acknowledge that they are equals not servants.
Today, I earnestly pray that the Lord is pleased with this amalgam. I pray that He smiles when he looks upon me, and that He will continue to work in my life to make me the person that He wants me to be.
Sincerely, your friend,
Roscoe
A Christian in Training