Japan:1st Nite Highlights
I arrived at the Narita Airport in the early afternoon. Layli told me to give her a call when I arrived but of course I hadn't printed out the email with her number. So I found an internet station, logged in, got her number and the bus info.
Of course it was awesome that the exit I took led right to my bus stop. Shibuya Excel Hotel. Meeting in the lobby.
Layli met me right after work and we headed to her house. I had stayed up pretty late the night before salsa dancing and started to feel it. Luckily Layli is as laid back as me and she was cool with me taking a nap at her place. We were going to a Baha'i gathering that night. It was a social night that had been going on for years. I found out later while at the gathering that it was the brain child of Layli and other friends years earlier. They started it and other folks took up the responsibility over time. I was so impressed by this. That this effort had not become an "event" that people could say, "Remember when we did this.." No, it was more, "Remember when this started and now look at what it has become." What the evening has become is a portal to the 3 core activities. I will touch on this in a moment.
When we first arrived I must admit it was a bit awkward. It takes a minute sometimes in Asian cultures for people to warm up. Once we got to talking with folks though it didn't take long for me to become comfortable. I was immediately introduced to two Maxwell students, Khotaro and John, who would later take me out for a walk on the town. It is incredible that over ten years later, I am still meeting Maxwell students. It doesn't come up in conversation very easily anymore so I don't realise sometimes that I am in the company of other Maxwell attendees.
Okay, portal to the three core activities. When Baha'is choose to take on a social activity that has the purpose but to: 1) to engage others in the spirit of the Faith 2) to naturally mention the Faith or one of the three core activities in their conversations, one begins to see something unfolding. The fact that I am living in Korea and involved in the Ruhi Study Circle process opens a point of commonality with most Baha'is around the world. This is basically how the conversation at the social in Tokyo went:
Baha'i 1: "So where do you live?"
Baha'i 2: "In Korea"
Baha'i 1: "Oh, really. I was just at Summer School there. I didn't see you there."
Baha'i 2: "Yes, I was busy but it looks like I should've gone because a few folks from here went to it."
Baha'i 1: "It was a wonderful meeting the Baha'is in Korea. We talked alot about the Ruhi Study circles."
Baha'i 2: " Yeah, they have been going well. It started off a little slow and there still is a need for more tutors but people are really starting to see the wisdom behind being involved in them. "
Friend: "What is a study circle?"
The young woman who asked about the study circle was from Korea and was very interested in joining a study circle in Tokyo. She and I were able to talk some about life in Seoul. It was my first real experience where I saw how natural it is to mention the activities of the Faith in certain places. I also saw that when we are striving to live a Baha'i life it is not unnatural to mention the Faith. It becomes as normal as talking about where you work or where you live. It is your life not an extention of it. It that one night. At that one occasion I learned so many lessons about how the process works and the importance of the condition of the individual believer being spiritually healthy.
In the first picture there is May, Layli, myself, and the young lady from Korea. In the second picture, in the place where Layli was, is a woman who is from China. She is a friend of May's. May invited her and she invited her friend from Korea. So in our small group, every woman was from a different country but we also established a VERY important commonality, all of us were in our 30's!!!
posted by Jeong-Eui = justice at 4:48 PM
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