my beautiful country.

it’s been a year since huge disaster hit japan.
i still remember the day vividly.
at first, i was confused. i learnt there was earthquake in japan on twitter on the way back home from work.
the reason i was confused was my timeline was full of people scared and shocked but they were from everywhere. so i thought earthquake happened many places in a short period of time.
after i came home, i called my family in japan but no answer.
then after a while, i saw what we all saw – huge tsunami swallowing towns of tohoku.

i was so sick to worry about my family.
my father in a tiny old house still struggling living by himself, my mother in nursing home paralysed because of stroke, and my brother who was truck driver often drove to tsunami affected area.
soon i heard all of them were safe.
father was at work with others, mother was luckily just got out from the elevator with her physio, and my brother was also very luckily survived.  he supposed to go to tohoku but he had to go opposite side of japan due to other people’s trouble.  sadly the person who took over my brother and went to tohoku never came back..

i couldn’t stop watching tv footage and reading news on internet and made myself depressed and worried.  i was so sad and at the same time i felt helpless.
i was far far from where disaster struck and all i could do is just feeling down… no use and ashamed.
i participated and organised fundraising events around melbourne.  and then realised so many people felt the same way as i did regardless of nationality.
just walking on a street, going to the shops, and total stranger talked to me.
they helped me realise world is beautiful.

after one year, people are still suffering and fukushima makes it more complicated and harder.  hope things get better for those who affected, and at the same time i strongly feel need to remember there are many people in this beautiful world struggling and needing help with or without huge disaster.
people are easily moved and affected by the huge sensational news but we need effort to remember things which is not on news everyday.
and most important and easy to forget is about those who around you.
we all have to say goodbye to this world, and we don’t know when and how.

take nothing for granted and appreciate what you’ve got, be true to yourself.