RecentWords2022

Ryo Yamazaki (1973 - ), a proponent of "Community Co-creation," calls our future the "Era of Participation." He argues that waiting for the government to improve our communities is no longer sufficient. Instead, sustainable and meaningful results come when residents actively participate in solving local issues (reference: Shrinking yet Filling Japan).

Of course, to participate, we need a philosophy—a sense of what is "right." However, people are not moved by righteousness alone. Obsessing over "being right" creates a closed world centered only on the self. Paradoxically, "one's own righteousness" can lead to isolation.

We have now been living with a global pandemic for over two years. We are entering an era of accepting change, often called "With-Corona." This, too, requires the participation of every individual. Yet, we see clashes of "personal truths" regarding vaccines and masks.

By nature, when humans face each other head-on, we tend to crush one another with our opposing views. Instead of confronting each other, why don't we try becoming someone who stands beside the other—a neighbor in the truest sense? 

Let us practice Okunen (憶念): deeply keeping one another in our thoughts and imagining the feelings behind the other person's words.