With the current state of international affairs, I'm reminded of an experience I had in Toyota City, Japan.
We are standing on the deck of a Panamax ship, barely noticing the gentle swell of the Mikawa Bay as we take in the vastness of the carrier. The ship is nearly 1000 feet long, 100 feet wide, and carries up to 120,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage). We watch for minutes as an endless supply of corn from Iowa is vacuumed from the containers of the ship and dispensed into trucks.
Recognizing that it's field corn, not like the sweet corn you eat for dinner, I ask our tour guide, "What is all of this corn for? Where is it heading?"
His face turns very serious and he tells me, "We are very grateful for our American allies. As you know, being an island, our space to grow such quantity of crops is limited. Japan has a high prevalence of diabetes and we depend on American corn to make the glucose needed to treat the disease. No imports, we die."
I don't spend much time thinking about imports and exports, trade embargoes, or international relations. With the news cycle focusing so heavily on the conflict between countries and the uncertainty about what might happen in the near future, I was reminded of the simple truth I learned on the deck of that ship. We need each other.
One country cannot survive on its own. Neither can one person. To truly thrive and ensure that we prosper as human beings, we must learn to rely on each other again.
Action
Ask someone to help you with something you would usually do on your own.
Question
What is keeping you from asking for help?
Quote
"Life provides ample opportunity to test our mettle. When circumstances call for it, let's give ourselves a break and ask for help." - Gina Greenlee.
Kommentarer