I have been deeply touched by the images broadcasted after the tsunami and nuclear accident in Japan. The calmness of the Japanese impressed me and there is one scene that I keep remembering.
During the first days after the disaster some supermarkets in Tokyo were running out of groceries. Images of empty shells in stores and customers standing in line were broadcasted. A salesman had to make sure that the shop didn’t get overcrowded. He was closing the door while he kept smiling and bowing to an elder man waiting his turn to enter, smiling and bowing at the same time. Outside the line kept calm and each customer was waiting its turn.
To be honest I could not imagine this calmness in Mexico or Germany. There would have been a cluster of people in front of the supermarket, trying to enter all at the same time, protesting and shouting. And maybe someone would have broken a shop window plundering the store and turning the whole scene into chaos.
In my opinion, the entire world could learn from the Japanese that it is always important to stay calm in a desperate situation. For some this Japanese characteristic may seem as indifference but I think that what’s behind it is dignity, positive thinking and a strong mind.
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