Beauty for Ashes

When I was in college, there were several Japanese girls who lived in the dorms with me. I had some classes with a few of them; one was the roommate to a good friend of mine. They'd learned English in Japan and come over to the States to study. And like me, they'd chosen to study music.  I remember sitting in Dr. Keck's music history class, a course notoriously difficult for us native-English students--I can't imagine how hard it would have been for someone who only spoke it as a second or third language--and watching as Risa Suzuki tapped furiously away at her hand held translator, desperately trying to take notes.  I had taken to typing up the lecture notes in class (it was faster than writing them by hand) so one day I offer to print her out a copy.  She smiled, tears in her eyes, and hugged me as she thanked me, calling me an angel.

While this tableau may not seem unusual to an American girl's eyes, what I had learned about the Japanese students at our university made it all the more meaningful to me.  The culture of Japan still carries in it certain aspects of the empire it once was, though some of it has indeed faded. Its people are proud--proud of their technology, of their wealth, their history, and their culture.  They are reserved--it was difficult to distinguish couples on campus; they rarely even held hands in public.  And they are hard working--in a field where most students didn't make it past the first theory course, these dedicated students stuck it out to the end, never giving up.

They are also kind.  Risa never failed to thank me for helping her in music history. It was such a small thing to me; it only took a few seconds to print out an extra copy of the notes.  But she never forgot it.

In the aftermath of Japan's earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant explosions, let's take a few seconds and do something small.  Donate to the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, or the Japanese Salvation Army.  You don't have to give a lot to make a difference, and it will only take a few seconds of your time.

To this end, I'm listing The Setting Sun Necklace--a hand made silver and pink agate necklace--for $45, and 100% of the proceeds from its sale will be donated to the Salvation Army's Japanese branch.

"To provide for those who mourn... to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."

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