A Year of Empathy

I was in Kyoto a few months ago, near the main station. I was soaking in the city while stopped at a corner. The day was calm.

While waiting to cross the street, I noticed an elderly lady carrying a large bag. It looked like a bag of sand.

I quickly found out it was a bag of bird food.

Because,

In the next moment, this lady opened the bag and started feeding pigeons. The birds flocked to her. On the corner in Kyoto. A pigeon feast was underway with about 50 attendees.

Then, a man started shouting. He wanted her to stop feeding the pigeons. The lady calmly ignored the man and continued on with her food delivery. The man walked off in frustration and continued on with his day.

I am sharing this story because after one year in Japan, it is the only negative altercation I’ve witnessed.

I’ve learned that, aside from the occasional bird-feeding dispute, the people of Japan seem to have a shared ideology to help one another.

To care for one another.

A shared sense of empathy.

In the last 12 months, I’ve witnessed many forms of a shared belief in caring for each other.

The wearing of masks is expected, public transportation is silent out of courtesy, people constantly apologize, children commute by themselves, and 2am in the heart of a city feels safe.

This idea of a shared empathy for others is my hope for every society, obviously.

A shared belief in caring about each other, with the occasional pigeon-sized dispute.