This story begins in Japan.
While riding the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka, my husband and I casually chatted about the Japanese people’s orderliness and respect, evident even on the train where they promptly stand for elders.
As we enjoyed the moment, a heartwarming scene emerged with two adorable little girls seated in front of us. On the left, a grandmother and mother, radiating a sense of warmth and care,set quietly. The girls seemed hungry, and the grandma approached them to share a snack. We had some remaining chopsticks from Serbia and debated whether to give them, considering potential reactions in our country where such gestures might be declined or deemed insufficient.
While lost in thought, the sweetest interaction unfolded as the girls subtly signaled for us to share the chopsticks with their grandmother. With a warm and gracious smile, she kindly accepted only two chopsticks, ensuring there was one for each precious little soul. Witnessing such modesty was truly heartening. In a delightful exchange, she handed us two of their candies, leaving us pleasantly surprised and grateful as we continued our journey.
However, it seemed the girls really liked the chopsticks. Hence, being a bit boring, we decided to gave the remaining chopsticks. After some gentle convincing, grandma accepted and, as a sign of gratitude, gave us a large bag of candies. Imagine our shock! Again! Such kindness and gratitude. Of course, we couldn’t accept; it was truly too much. However, just when we thought the thanking moment was over, as the girls exited the train, they waved, bowed, and both mom and grandma thanked us several times with the warmest smiles.
I was overwhelmed with a feeling of love and, above all, faith in humanity. We truly need to change and learn from the Japanese – it’s not grand gestures that we need, but small acts of kindness that matter.
In the midst of my gratitude and the situation, I put on my earphones, and Cher’s song “Love and Understanding” started playing. In that moment, everything clicked, and my tears streamed down. It’s exactly what we need – more love and understanding. For everything happening in the world today, that’s precisely what we lack.
Listen to the song if you haven’t, as in that moment, I thought the lyrics could be the world’s anthem:
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Ljubav i Razumevanje
Ova prica pocinje u Japanu.
Dok smo se vozili brzim vozom iz Tokija do Osake, suprug i ja smo neobavezno pricali i komentarisali kako su Japanci tako uredni, vredni, da se vidi to postovanje starijih na svakom kutku pa cak i u vozu gde im odmah ustaju i fino se upitaju.
U medjuvremenu se desavala jedna scena sa preslatkim devojcicama koje su sedele ispred nas. Levo od nasih sedista, stacionirane su bile baka i mama, dosta stroge cinilo se. Devojcice su bile gladne i baka im je prisla da podeli neku sitnicu cisto da prezalogaje. Mi smo bas jeli stapice koje smo poneli iz Srbije i ostalo nam je svega desetak od cele kese i razmisljali da li da im damo. Jer znamo kako bi reagovali u nasoj zemlji, niti bi prihvatili a i uvredili bi se berovatno na kolicinu koju delimo.
Dok smo tako razmisljali sta da radimo, devojcice su nas pogledale krisom, smeseci se, i to je bio nas signal da ponudimo njihovoj baki stapice. Starica se toliko odusevila, nasmesila i zahvalila a opet uzela samo dva stapica. Za svaku po jedan. Zamislite samo dva stapica?! Kakva skromnost.
Dok smo mi ostali u cudu zasto samo po jedan, starica je nama dala dva njihova slatkisa da probamo. Izuzetno prijatno iznenadjeni, ljubazno smo se zahvalili i nastavili svoje putovanje.
Medjutim, delovalo je da su se devojcicama zaista svideli stapici te smo odlucili da budemo dosadni i jos jednom se obratimo baki i damo im preostalu kolicinu stapica. Nakon nekog vremena ubedjivanja, prihvatila je. Okrenula se da nesto potrazi u torbi, vadeci punu kesu onih slatkisa od malopre i daje nama u znak zahvalnosti. Zamislite nas sok! Kakva ljubaznost i kakvi ljudi! Naravno da nismo prihvatili, bilo je stvarno previse. Jer mi zaista nismo ni mnogo dali a nismkni previse imali, dok smo zauzvrat dobili puno srce! I da pomislite da je dosta stvarno sa zahvaljivanjem, nije. Dok su izlazile iz voza, devojcice su nam mahnule, baka i mama i naklonile i zahvalile nekoliko puta sa sve najmilijim osmesima.
Mene je preplavilo takvo osecanje ljubavi a pre svega vere u ovo covecanstvo. Da se zaista moramo menjati i koliko mozemo da naucimo od Japanaca. Zapravo i od svakog ljubaznog pojedinca. Pre svega, nisu potrebne neke kule i gradovi, nego mali cin paznje da pokazes da ti je stalo.
Dok sam tako bila osamucena od zahvalnosti i cele situacije, stavila sam slusalice u usi i krenula je pesma od Cher- “Love and Understanding.” U tom momentu, sve se spojilo u meni i suze su mi potekle. Tacno je to ono sto nam treba. Vise ljubavi i razumevanja. Za sve sto se desava danas u ovom svetu, tacno nam fali to.
Poslusajte pesmu ako niste, jer ja sam u tom trenutku pomislila kako bi mogla biti himna sveta:
Tanja's diary 🧚🏻♂️ 