“HUMILITY” MEANS I HAVE MORE TO LEARN and CONTRIBUTE
2026-09-09
“Humility” in our Japanese in America community too often means, “being quiet and not being disruptive.” This morning, I’m listening to an interview with Matthew McConaughey and these words from him about “Humility” resonate big time!
To learn means to gain knowledge, understanding, or a new skill through study, teaching, practice, or life experience. Given the opportunities for more life experience, I’m writing down and following my newly worded/added life purpose of: “utilizing my next 10+ years, I’m now 87-yrs, for benefiting our Pacific Northwest Community with researched findings that ‘happiness’ is finding meaning with Japanese Heritage Values”.
My point is that, here in the Pacific Northwest, we, Japanese in America, have been the majority minority and we have a poignant US history story to tell. Writers and researchers, Dr. Iain McGilchrist & Arthur Brooks PhD site Asian/Japanese Culture and Arts as ways we can balance left brain Western thinking with right brain Asian Values for “HAPPIERNESS”!!
My master’s thesis from U of Washington was on the “Difference Between the Right and Left Brain Thinking” and Arthur Brooks, who grew up in Seattle, constantly cites McGilchrist as he lectures at Harvard on “HAPPIERNESS”. I have also spent the last 56 years gathering, writing, and sharing stories about the Japanese in America Experiences.
I have a specific aim of sharing our “Japanese Heritage Values Stories” with the goal of motivating School Children in Washington State to think and write more about their own Heritages!
One of my daughter’s good friends, Leigh Durst, wrote a book WALKERS, CLIMBERS AND FLYERS. Here at our Japanese Cultural and Community Center if Washington (JCCCW) we’ve done a great job of “walking” for 28 years. For sustainability, it’s time and necessary to do a bunch of “FLYING”!
A month ago, I went to 60th Anniversary celebration. I chose to sit with a group at a table at the far end of their yard on this beautiful, warm August Bellevue evening. I like meeting new people and I’m pretty good with asking questions. As I’m enjoying the sushi and wine, I share that I’m working to fund raise for $3m to put a new roof on our JCCCW. The individuals at this table are poets, writers and generally successful individuals. They give me a “ho-hum” assurance that it is worthwhile and doable.
Then, I go further and talk about raising $50m for sustainability the next 100 years. The table comes alive and Larry M starts asking me a bunch of questions. Two days later I get a two page email with all his suggestions and an agenda I can take back to the JCCCW board meeting.
Back to the anniversary party; later in the evening listening to the anniversary couple’s grandchildren entertain us with their band and vocals. I start talking to Brian M. Brian’s son is the drummer. Talking more about the $50m got him more excited, ending with, “Where can donate?”
I will be LEARNING and blogging more about FUND RAISING AND HAPPIERNESS!!!