My family and I attended the Japanese Kai celebrations last Tuesday night at Te Atamira to learn about the Japanese New Year, food and traditions. I took Japanese for 5 years at high school so I have always had a love for the language and their way of life. Their traditions, folklore, rituals and forest bathing.
The evening was a beautiful example of how we can bring people together through education, play and community settings such as sharing food and knowledge.
When we focus on what brings us together rather than what separates us, we understand more about others and ourselves.
The thing is with Queenstown, we are a mixed bag of Lollie’s from all over New Zealand and the world. What makes us unique is what we bring into the community and how we can support each other when we come from a place of understanding rather than trying to fit people into a mould.
We choose to raise our daughter here because of the many nationalities. We travelled the world and experienced many other places, people and cultures. Places like people are what hold a special place in my heart. I feel fortunate to have been raised in New Zealand for freedom, safety and security.
At the end of the day, our similarities outweigh our differences. We all have a heart that beats and lungs to breathe. We were all born and we will all die. By celebrating each other’s uniqueness and respecting them, we can show our children a different world to live in. Ignorance may be bliss but ignorance can also lead to judgment from thinking there is only one perspective. Take off your blinkers and see the peripheral views of what you have been missing. Get curious about people instead of criticizing them for not thinking or doing things the way you do. There is beauty in our surroundings and beauty in people if that is your focus.
Thank you to all the Japanese Community who shared with us a snippet of who they are and their culture. Your warmth, generosity and food that you shared with everyone in the room were talked about for days in our home and made us appreciate even more how lucky we are to live in this town that celebrates diversity.