Big Things on Little Awaji: Be Love

Love is in the air. Or perhaps it isn’t depending on where you live, who lives near you (or doesn’t), or if the cold air actually froze it… So what can you do? My advice to cope with those lonely, cold winter nights (and days) is to BE LOVE.

The rewarding thing about choosing to be love is that you get to define what love is and act accordingly. Is it doing a random act of kindness for someone? Being extra patient with someone? Creating an event to show your love? The possibilities are infinite.

The other great part about choosing to be love is that if your actions aren’t coming from a place of love, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. No one wants to deal with a grumpy, grumbling, whiny you.

Being love takes practice and it’s not always easy, but it’s your choice. When I am trying to decide if I should do something or not, I ask, “Am I doing this out of love?” Setting the intention puts me back into perspective and shifts my sour attitude into a positive and highly effective one.

I‘d like to share an example of how I chose to create something I wanted to see in my life by organizing an event at Christmas time:

Right before Christmas, a group of ALT’s and I were trying to figure out how to cope with the loneliness over the holiday break. Recalling the Smile Kids Japan organization, my friend suggested we try and find an orphanage to volunteer at for Christmas. We lacked the physical love of our families and friends and realized this would be a great way we could overcome this–by creating love. I took the idea and ran with it. After creating the plan to visit the two orphanages on Awaji, I raced to ask my JTE for help. There was still the issue that I can only speak beginner level Japanese. I’d need him to be the contact person for the project and spend a lot of time on the phone conversing with the orphanages for me. Luckily, he loved the idea and happily joined my team.

My next step was to build a team of volunteers. I found the perfect mixture of Awaji and Hyogo JETs who were up for the challenge. In addition, during my adult English class, my student informed us that she liked to perform puppet shows and read stories to kids as a volunteer. Immediately, I asked her to share her talents with the kids and she excitedly agreed.

There was much more I would’ve liked to do with the project, but had less than 25 days to implement everything. I had to put aside my perfectionism and concentrate on only what was realistically possible. When I focused on using people’s strengths, I found they were more excited about the project. I refused to make people do things they didn’t want to do, because in the long run, it would create more complications. Besides, the kids were still getting more than if we weren’t coming at all. We decided on having the high school kids build Meiji chocolate houses while the smaller kids could decorate Christmas cookies, make snowflakes, play games, and decorate gingerbread men.

Preparing for the event was a challenge. There were complications as all events typically have– lack of communication, problems with setting dates, and unexpected twists. Even though I got frustrated, I would simply say, “I am love” to refocus. So when I had to bake about 120 sugar cookies in an “easy bake oven” in three days, I’d simply repeat the phrase and smile.

The day finally arrived. The Japanese storyteller, her assistant, my JTE, and I went to the first orphanage the day before Christmas Eve. It was the first time I had been to one and was completely humbled. I realized I’d love to adopt someday. At one point, I sang and taught “White Christmas” to the kids. I may have been extremely nervous and knew I could have done better job, but the experience was a memory I will treasure forever. As I was leaving, the kids couldn’t stop thanking me and asked me to come back again.

On Christmas Eve, the group of ALT’s, the Japanese storyteller, and I headed to the second orphanage. We’d be running the event instead of just participating it in it. The kids loved the puppet show, cookies, and the crafts and games. For some of them, it was their first time seeing foreigners. I think we brought them more sweets than they’d ever seen in their lives! Everyone had a blast, again creating memories we could all cherish forever.

Even though this wasn’t the love that I was used to, I was able to discover a love that I didn’t know I was capable of giving. Before this, I had never organized a charity event or had an interest in doing so. A problem arose–a lack of feeling love during the holidays–so I took my passion of loving kids and created something amazing. These visits may not have been perfectly organized or coordinated to my standards, but in the grand scheme of things, that doesn’t matter. We can always find ways to improve a situation and I can use the knowledge for next year. I learned that the love we shared was more powerful and influential than any toy we could’ve brought them.

The next time you hear yourself complaining about a lack of something in your life or a situation, ask yourself what you can do to change it. It all boils down to personal responsibility. Whatever you decide, give it your all even when you’re surrounded by challenges. Ghandi said it best, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” If you want more love in your life, then go give it. Give the love you want to see.