Asa mi-a spus CEO-ul Skeyndor inainte de a vizita Japonia. M-a mirat putin pentru ca am avut norocul sa vad o foarte mare parte din lume, inclusiv din Asia si nu ar fi trebuit sa fie chiar asa dramatic. Hmm… ce dus rece…
Dar nu despre turism doresc sa vorbesc. Frumusetea lumii consta in diversitate si fiecare loc isi are unicitatea lui. Aceasta remarca pretentioasa vine din faptul ca am avut senzatia ca am ajuns in viitor, iar dupa 10 zile, ca m-am intors in trecut. Nu vorbesc aici despre super tehnologie avansata, ci despre o societate superioara din foarte multe puncte de vedere. Ce curios este, cu binele ne obisnuim imediat, ne adaptam de parca am fost acolo dintotdeauna, iar cu greul, niciodata.
Societatea nipona este superioara deoarece a ajuns la un nivel de constiinta sociala colectiva superioara, in care nimeni nu deranjeaza pe cei din jur. Nu se mananca pe strada, nu sunt gunoaie pe strada, desi nu exista cosuri de gunoi. Nu sunt pete de guma de mestecat pe asfalt, nu se vorbeste la telefon in tren, In locuri publice aglomerate, nu se vorbeste tare, nu se fumeaza in aer liber in public, in zonele de trafic. Politetea a ajuns la nivel de arta: plecaciunile instantanee, modul de a oferi si de a primi cartile de vizita, banii sau cardurile, cu doua maini, cu degetele mari paralele, formulele nesfarsite de politete, complimente si multumiri, onoarea ce-i calauzeste in tot ce fac, perfectiunea gradinilor, ce sunt crescute controlat, ciresii infloriti in plin sezon, templele ireale, arhitectura dusa la perfectiune, toate creaza o atmosfera de poveste. Politistii, vanzatorii, toti poarta manusi albe pentru a nu murdari nimic, iar faptul ca nicaieri nu se intra incaltat (la restaurant, in cabinele de proba, in camera de hotel, la toaleta) arata grija lor pentru ceea ce lasa in urma. Riscul de a imbolnavi pe ceilalti odata racit, si/sau de a te imbolnavi determina pe marea majoritate sa poarte masti de gura, constienti ca un om racit scos din productie devine un om neproductiv si deci o povara pentru societate, te face sa te simti inconjurat ca de cadre medicale. Este mai important sa fii pregatit in caz de epidemie in cea mai populata metropola de pe Pamant, 34.000.000 oameni, decat sa iti fie rusine ca porti masca. Nu va spun ce fashion sunt aceste masti, de la culori, la strass-uri si modele.
Dar nu despre asta e vorba, ci despre obsesia lor pentru eficienta. O natiune care isi dedica viata atingerii perfectiunii. In orice. Arta tragerii cu arcul, de exemplu, e mai importanta decat atingerea tintei, desi atingerea perfectiunii atrage dupa sine si bifarea obiectivului, ca o urmare fireasca. Toate trotoarele au trasee cu benzi cu protuberante pentru nevazatori, toti respecta sensul de mers pe trotoar, respectul pentru ceilalti fiind atat de mare incat suma intarzierilor tuturor trenurilor din tara (si au enorm de multe trenuri!) insumeaza 9 secunde. Daca intarzie trenul spre munca, iti scriu un bilet catre conducere cu scuze, in care isi asuma responsabilitatea.
Ca niciodata, mi-am uitat rucsacul in tren. Aveam in el o parte din acte, carduri si bani, si ne-am gandit ca nu le mai vedem niciodata. L-au gasit mai repede decat l-am pierdut noi! Ne astepta deja la destinatie!
Ma gandeam cum am putea sa avem si noi in tara o astfel de normalitate. Unde isi are radacinile o astfel de evolutie a constiintei? Cred ca pe primul loc este educatia. Statistica arata ca la alegerile noastre din 2009, aproximativ 50% din votanti nu aveau decat maxim 10 clase! Inca vreo 33% aveau studii medii, adica doar liceul, iar restul de 18%, aveau studii superioare. Este foarte greu sa vezi in viitor daca nu ai o perspectiva mai ampla si o minte antrenata. Esti mai greu de mintit, de manipulat si incepi sa ridici stacheta.
Cred ca al doilea loc il ocupa credinta si sistemul de valori la care ne raportam. Atata timp cat frica de moarte si credinta ca totul se sfarseste odata cu moartea fizica ne face sa nu intelegem ca poate suntem pe pamant pentru a evolua, continuu, pentru o constiinta colectiva, numita natura, Dumnezeire, energie, sau cum vrea fiecare. In conditiile in care sistemul de credinte se bazeaza pe evolutia continua, intr-un sistem in care viata insasi este continua, in viata asta si apoi mai departe, poate in alta viata, te face sa te schimbi pentru ca nu poti scapa de evolutie, doar prelungesti momentul, devenind astfel mai bun, mai ales daca toata societatea pune aceasta presiune pe tine.
Apoi, urmatorul factor este onoarea, fara de care nu exista nimic. Dupa 800 de ani de cod al onoarei in spiritul Bushido, cel al samurailor, societatea nipona de astazi inca traieste si se raporteaza la acest cod al onoarei.
Mai mult ca sigur ca este greu de inteles si chiar mai greu de aplicat, pentru ca reprezinta o alta lume.
Totusi sa fie oare o coincidenta ca o tara care este formata din 4 insule, dependenta de continent, cu 2 cutremure in medie/zi, cu tsunami, dezastre si tafunuri devastatoare, cu sol vulcanic, cu 70% din suprafata tarii acoperita de munti, a cucerit o treime de planeta, a avut 2 orase rase de pe fata pamantului, apoi in 60 de ani a ajuns a doua cea mai mare economie a lumii, depasita anul trecut de China si in prezent fiind singura tara din lume cu peste 100 milioane populatie cu venituri de peste 3.300 dolari americani pe luna ?
Oare faptul ca noi suntem a 7-a cea mai mare tara din Europa, ca avem toate formele de relief, ca avem gaze, petrol, aur si argint, resurse de apa si paduri, teren agricol ce poate sustine 7 tari ca a noastra, tara in care noi suntem muritori de foame si datori, tara ce nici nu prea ne mai apartine, sa fie tot o coincidenta?
Pana la urma ce ne e mai important, sa ne agatam de un sistem de valori ce ne-a tot tinut saracii Europei si sclavii ei, sau am putea sa mai schimbam ceva? Sincer, imi doresc pentru copiii mei o altfel de normalitate. Am fost impreuna in Japonia si sper sa fi invatat ceva. Pentru ei, pentru copiii lor si pentru noi toti in general. Pentru ca este o calatorie ce-ti schimba viata.
Lucian Miess, General Manager GETT’S Salons
The journey that changes your life.
That’s what Skeyndor’s CEO said to me before visiting Japan. I was surprised a little bit because I was lucky enough to see a large part of the world, including Asia so it shouldn’t have been so dramatic, but, Hmm … what a cold shower …
I don’t want to talk about tourism. The beauty of the world lies in its diversity and every place has its uniqueness. This comment comes from the fact that I had the feeling that I arrived in the future and after 10 days, I am back in the past. I am not talking about the super advanced technology, but a higher society from many points of view. How curious it is, we get used to good things immediately, we adapt like they were always there, and with the hard things we never adjust.
Japanese society is superior because it has reached a high level of collective social consciousness, where nobody bothers the others. No street eating, not garbage on the street, though there are no garbage cans. No chewing gum, not talking on the phone in the train or in crowded public places, no loud talking, no smoking in outdoor public traffic areas. Politeness as an art: the bows, the way to give and receive business cards, money or cards with two hands, thumbs parallel, endless compliments and thanks, the honor that guides them in everything they do, perfect gardens, which are controlled and cultivated, cherry blossoms in full season, unreal temples, architecture carried to perfection, all this creates a fairytale atmosphere. Policemen, salesmen, all wearing white gloves to avoid getting anything dirty and the fact that no one enters in a room with their shoes on (the restaurant, in changing rooms, in the hotel room, the restroom) shows their concern for what they leave behind. The risk of others getting sick once you are, causes the vast majority to wear mouth masks, realizing that a sick person becomes an unproductive one and a burden to society, it makes you feel surrounded by medical staff. It’s important to be prepared in case of an epidemic in the most populous metropolis on Earth, 34 million people, than to be ashamed of wearing the mask. And who’s to say that these masks aren’t fashion? With the colors, the semi precious stones and and patterns.
But this is not the subject, but their obsession with efficiency. A nation who devote their lives to achieve perfection. In everything. The art of archery, for example, is more important than reaching the target, although reaching perfection means also reaching the target as a natural consequence. All pavements have trails with strips for the blind people, all of them walk where they suppose to on the sidewalk, respect for others is so big that the sum of delays of all trains in the country (and they have a lot of trains!) totalize nine seconds. If the train gets you late for work, they write a note to the management and apologize, assuming the responsibility.
Strangely, I left my bag on the train. I had in it some documents, cards and money, that we thought we were never going to see. They found it sooner than we lost it! It was expecting me to arrive!
I was wondering how we could have such normality in our country. Where is rooted such consciousness and evolution? I think the first reason is education. Statistics show in our elections in 2009, about 50% of the voters had only a maximum of 10 years of education ! Another 33% had secondary education (only high school), and the remaining 18% had a degree education. It is very hard to see the future if you have a broader perspective and a trained mind. You’re harder to lie, manipulate and began to raise the bar.
I think second place is occupied by belief and values system that we believe in. As long as the fear of death and the belief that everything ends with physical death makes us realize that maybe we are not on earth to evolve continuously to a collective consciousness, called nature, divinity, energy, or how you want to name it. Given that belief system is based on the continuous evolution in a system in which life itself is continuous, in this life, and then further, maybe in another life, makes you change because you can not get rid of evolution only prolong the time, making the best, especially if the whole society puts this pressure on you.
Then, the next factor is honor, without which there is nothing. After 800 years of code of honor in the spirit of Bushido, the samurai, Japanese society today is still alive and reported to the code of honor.
More than likely it is difficult to understand and even harder to apply, because it represents a different world.
May be a coincidence that a country that is made up of four islands, dependent on the mainland, with two earthquakes on average / day, with the tsunami disaster and taifuns devastation, volcanic soil, with 70% of the country covered by mountains, conquered a third of the planet, had 2 cities razed to the ground, then in 60 years became second largest economy in the world, surpassed China last year and currently is the only country in the world with over 100 million people with incomes over U.S. $ 3,300 per month?
Does the fact that we are the 7th largest country in Europe, we have all types of landforms that we have gas, oil, gold and silver, water resources and forests, agricultural land can sustain 7 countries like ours, country in which we are starving and indebted that does not really belong to us, it is all a coincidence?
Eventually what is more important, to cling to a system of values that kept us Europe’s poor people and its slaves, or change it? Honestly, I wish for my children a different kind of normality. We went to Japan together and I hope to have learned something. For them, their children and for all of us in general. Because it is a journey that changes your life.
Lucian Miess, General Manager GETT’S Salons