Category Archives: Life

I-breathe-in-the-future, breathe-out-the-past.

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Five steps in, four steps out

My lips are sealed

but soles are free

to stroke the Earth I know so well

where dreams can soar

and life is more

than rutted ground and nasty stones

that make me frown

and get me down.

barefoot running

Yet, by and by

through nostrils willing,

and heart forgiving

the flow returns

from head to feet,

a hope-filled beat.

- Mark ‘barefoot runner’ McClure

An ode to barefoot running and affirmative nasal breathing;-)
The post’s title is taken from a meditation described in Barbara Ann Brennan’s book, “Hands of Light”.

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Present Yesterday

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(An edited version of this post will be submitted for publication at Jacinta Hin’s “Embrace Transition” FaceBook page.)

One of my favorite novels is the time travel classic, “Replay“, by the late Ken Grimwood.

Here’s an appreciation I wrote over three years ago:

“Would Time Travellers Set Goals?

The plot’s ingeniously simple but the consequences rip and ripple through time and space, affecting many. I’ve read ‘Replay’ several times and, in response to the events of 3/11, feel drawn to do so again.

Why?

Because, in a strange mash up of fact and fiction I found it easy to imagine that my character’s 43 years suddenly ended at 2:46pm, one pleasant Friday in March, 2011.

And yet, in the flicker of a dying synapse, I was soon very much alive again.

But it was the year 1986 and I’d all of the memories and experiences of the next 25 consciously available…

What would I do?

Where would I go?

Who would I meet up with or avoid?

What made Mr. Grimwood’s book such a deeply soul-searching read were the twin discoveries made by his main character that the initial replay was only the first of an unknown number to come; and, that he was not the only replayer.

From these jarring realizations he came to question the very foundation of his existence and… well, why not read the book and discover what happened for yourself.

Watching the Japanese TV news a few night ago I was struck by how many of the survivors of quake and tsunami wanted to put back together pieces of the lives they had once known.

A boy who admitted he didn’t much like school before, now longed for the routine of the classroom. An elderly woman lamented that she couldn’t stand existence in a shelter and just wished to go home to a house and to neighbors that no longer existed.

I found myself thinking how much we humans are creatures of habit and circumstance, even after we’ve taken care of the basic needs of food, water, shelter, warmth and kinship. No doubt I would react in a similar manner if my world had been ripped asunder in a matter of minutes, and I was left facing a very uncertain and troubled future.

However, even for the foreigners I know of in Tokyo with an undamaged dwelling to relax in and an intact way of earning a living, it’s still an unsettling time.

There are, of course, the widely reported physical realities of broken nuke plants and random aftershocks to contend with. Much less discussed is the puncturing of an “always on” city lifestyle that took the availability of unlimited electrical power almost as natural law. Faced now with the prospect of power shortages in the hot, sticky summer ahead, how many will attempt to carry on as before?

And, looking further ahead, just as Replay’s main character knew what was to come, but for a lifetime or two attempted to ignore the inevitable day of reckoning; will our days return to living in a ‘present yesterday’ and to ignoring those impulses to start changing repeating patterns that no longer serve us?

Or, most shockingly of all, perhaps a replay of Tohoku’s tribulations, but one much closer to this metropolis and its teeming millions, will be the awful catalyst for personal collapse and reinvention?

Lest you misunderstand, I don’t wish natural disasters on anyone. And I fully support the mighty efforts to help those who’ve suffered so much from recent calamities in Japan.

But at the same time, it’s clear to me that Japan, and Tokyo in particular, has been served a warning on what could happen in the Kanto region. Unlike ‘Replay’, we ‘unfortunately’ don’t have any firm date to plan for.

In the interim, I foresee much personal introspection and change in the months and years ahead for the people of Japan, and for foreign residents too. With some luck and much hard work, an eye to the future will hopefully help many better understand the lessons of experience, and the thrill of being more present today.

- Mark McClure

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Embrace Transition and Post 3/11 Japan

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My friend, Jacinta Hin, recently launched her ‘embrace transition’ fan page on FaceBook.

The 3/11 quake and tsunami was the catalyst for an idea she’s been thinking about for a while.

And now the time has come.

http://www.facebook.com/eTransition

Check it out and, if you find value there, please ‘like’ the page and spread the word.

- Mark McClure

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Japan – Down But Not Out

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“The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.”
The Go-Between, by L.P. Hartley

That opening line’s puzzled me since reading his novel over twenty years ago. What did the author really mean?

japan-power-up

About 2:45pm on Friday 11 March, 2011, I was climbing the sixth of nine flights of stairs,

(the picture shows a view from the top taking in Tokyo Tower and a group of super heroes),

when a slight wobble had me pause mid-step.

Thinking it was just another of the many tests carried out by construction engineers on the adjoining new extension over the last few months, I attempted to resume my ascent.

At that point primal fear and survival impulses kicked in as I felt the building lurch in multiple directions, rather like a ‘helterskelter’ fairground ride.

I can remember debating with myself if I should run back down the stairs but instinct propelled me up to the 7th floor and under the relative safety of a sturdy desk.

Memory blurs over what happened during the next 90 seconds but terror and shock were definitely uninvited companions as the floor swayed and accelerated to what I sensed were alarming angles.
I clung tightly to the desk and, for a brief moment, wondered what might happen if the floor or the ceiling were to give way.

(Later on, there was time to reflect on how well the architects and engineers had designed this building to dampen energies that could have easily cracked walls and supports.)

Throughout this phase of the ‘ride’ I could hear an enormous cacophony of sounds, none of which I’d noticed in previous smaller quakes. There was thumping, high pitched whines, groans and creaks, as if the building was lamenting an agonized and inevitable death.

And then, without any warning, the vibration and noise simply faded away. The building came to a gradual stop and, much to my amazement and delight relief, appeared to be completely unharmed.
(Mar 2012 update: I changed ‘delight’ to ‘relief’. It’s closer to how I did feel then.)

Looking back on that fateful Friday, a mere nine days later, I find myself mourning the loss of an old, dependable friend. A Tokyo I could set my watch by these past 17 years is struggling to get back on ‘her’ feet again.

Battered by aftershocks and witness to the misery and suffering throughout much of North-Eastern Japan, threatened by power shortages and invisible enemies, she will need much care and attention to make it through the coming months.

In LP Hartley’s novel, future happiness shattered into a thousand pieces because the pain of heartbreak and betrayal remained with one of the key characters to the bitter end.

What gives me strength, and why I choose to remain here, is that Tokyo and Japan have gone through calamities across the centuries and survived. So, while there are risks and uncertainties ahead, experience suggests this country has a collective future worth living and working for.

To my Japanese relatives, friends and colleagues, and to everyone rooting for Japan to pull through this disaster, I would simply say:

“The future’s unexplored territory. You can do things differently there.”

- Mark McClure

PS - I changed the ending quote from “The future’s an unexplored country. They do things differently there.” to what you see now. I think it expresses a warmer, more welcoming place – not without risks, of course – as one probable future path among many.

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Message to My Daughter

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What do you tell teens growing up in an Internet-enabled world where images of war and suffering, death and pain, loyalty and sacrifice, are but a click away?

I came across a very moving story today and decided to share its message with my 15 year old.

To my daughter,

I know the story’s heartbreaking to read but you’re old enough now to understand that even in the midst of conflict and suffering, surrounded by death and carnage, there are still little pockets of love.

Here’s a very beautiful and poignant example.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1362837/Bomb-sniffing-Army-dog-master-repatriated-Wootton-Bassett.html

What moved me most was that soldier and dog were in the business of saving lives, not in taking them.

Look carefully at the top photograph and spare a thought for the lives and the sacrifice of L/Cpl Liam Tasker and Theo.

Please remember that you and I are both fortunate to live in a peaceful country, and to experience the joy and companionship a dog can bring. Yes, their time here was cut tragically short, but that iconic photo has captured forever a very deep truth well known to dog lovers, and will probably become a source of great comfort to those who knew and loved them.

Wherever life takes you, be well and be happy.

Daddy

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