SENDAI UNLOCKED – by

Lena Takahashi, Healing Land Reiki

“Moving through the messy middle of our daily life with peace and ease is one of our goals.”

COVID-19 Irrationality in Sendai

Recently, I was walking in a local supermarket. I was observing how Japanese people were running and grabbing as much toilet and tissue paper as they could. It struck me as a very unusual behavior for Japanese people.

It made me pause and many thoughts ran through my head.

“Oh! The global situation that we are facing right now, is much more serious than I thought.”

I started to ask a lot of questions:

⚫︎What will people do if they don’t have food at home?

⚫︎Would it really matter if people don’t have tissue or toilet paper?

⚫︎What if there will be blackouts? etc…

The experience in the supermarket and the questions were related to the global Coronavirus pandemic we are facing. Many people all over the world have been affected by it in many ways you can and can’t imagine.

Finally, I asked myself, “What’s the best way to live our lives and remain focused without being pulled into the collective fears that many people have and project?”

Coronavirus Clarity

I wondered how I could classify the current situation. It appears to me that the whole world has been covered with thick layers of fear, pain, sadness, and panic. 

With all that’s been said, each of us has been affected in some way. Because we all live on this beautiful planet called Earth, we are all connected no matter where we live, which race we are or which religion we practice. As a result, we can all relate to the current feeling that has gone global.

Can I share with you a story that gives my own answers to the questions above?

I have lived in Miyagi prefecture for over 17 years but I grew up in the former Soviet Union. I had to pull a lot of my childhood memories to write this article. For example, except for table napkins that were used only for special occasions, we never had tissue paper.  I only started to use tissue after I got to Japan. I also lived in India for some time and adopted a way of living that did not consume much toilet paper. So if we open our minds, we may discover various solutions we had not considered.

I shared this to let you know that a towel or an unused cotton bed sheet or even old clothes can be cut and repurposed for the needs that you would use tissue paper. After the Soviet Union broke apart, there were times when my family did not have much food to eat.  It made us value food more and learn creative ways to make the food we had last longer.

Due to rapid changes in the world food industry, I started to learn different ways on how to help the body. Mainly, I’ve been trained in Ayurveda, Herbology, and Naturopathy. One of the big tools that I can incorporate from my studies for this situation is fasting. Fasting is defined as abstinence from all or some foods or drinks for a set period of time. 

(Disclaimer: Fasting should be done under the guidance of a doctor or medical professional.  Children, pregnant women and/or breastfeeding mothers, people with chronic illnesses, etc. are not advised to do fasting.) 

So from my life experience and my studies, fasting can be an option for some people. But for those people who cannot fast, my advice to you is to have enough supplies of food that have a long shelf life. And start stocking it up during good times, not when an emergency suddenly strikes the whole country or world. That will help you avoid long lines and anxiety.

Blackouts

Having blackouts? Nobody can predict it for now, but you never know. And this is one I would like to give as a bonus to think about.

I’ve experienced blackouts a lot when I lived in my home country, Ukraine. Even though I now live in Japan, I always have a huge stock of candles in my home. It’s just a suggestion but I recommend you do the same if you don’t have them already. 

As you can see, there can be many different solutions to the problem that you are facing right now. 

It’s important to open your mind, heart, and vision to see a better picture of an occurred situation.

These are just a few things that are a part of the physical aspect of the situation.

There is another aspect that has not been addressed much that I will be writing about it in Part II Until next week please be safe and think well.

Sendai Unlocked by Lena Takahashi, a 17 year Miyagi resident.