At first it seemed a trivial way to solve a problem.
Two weeks ago Masaru Emoto, a Japanese author who believes water crystals respond to human thoughts, invited people all over the world at noon in their respective time zones to send a message of love and gratitude to the “angry” waters of the Fukushima nuclear plant.
He writes in his appeal for support for his day of prayer, “During over twenty year research of hado measuring and water crystal photographic technology, I have been witnessing that water can turn positive when it receives pure vibration of human prayer no matter how far away it is.”
Typically, I don’t pay attention to mass appeals, no matter how well-intentioned. Thanks to the success of New Age books like “The Secret,” many believe positive thinking alone can do everything from heal troubled relationships to manifest Ferraris out of thin air.
Yet Masaru Emoto’s desire to unify people across the globe in a common purpose did inspire me to consider the significance, even in a seemingly mild way, of agreement.
Of hearts joining together to send a meaningful wish for hope, rather than clenched fists representing the long line of naysayers and complainers.
After all, there’s no shortage of people expressing frustration and discontent with the endless assortment of problems we face. The list of complaints grows steadily longer, while the only solutions being offered demand that “everyone else” change.
Yet what would happen, I wonder, if we opened our minds to the real power of positive thought, which is not mere wishful thinking, but conscious, intentional action inspired by a decision to create a desired outcome by changing oneself first.
Wouldn’t we, for instance, support politicians who agree to work together with opponents who, like them, represent the diverse, often conflicting, concerns of all citizens? Wouldn’t we approach problems first by asking ourselves, what in the midst of this dilemma can I agree to say yes to, instead of no?
A handful of years ago a customer at the bookstore where I worked shared with me her experience of creating something positive from a difficulty. The Ku Klux Klan had planned a rally in her hometown, and she wanted to join a group of protesters. At the last minute, however, she changed her mind.
She realized that spending the afternoon angry and frustrated wasn’t going to do anything except create more anger and frustration. Protesting the hate group’s right to express their viewpoint wasn’t going to make anyone less racist.
She spent the afternoon volunteering at a retirement home instead.
She told me, “I decided to support my beliefs by doing something positive in the community instead of contributing to the negativity of the rally.”
Several hours of community service may seem a simple, unrelated offering to counteract her moral dilemma, yet she chose to do something practical and beneficial for a group of people in her hometown. How often do we turn our wishes for change into positive responses of any kind?
I’m reminded of a story by author Bette Greene, where a character, challenged on all that he doesn’t believe in, states, “I (do) believe that love is better than hate. And that there is more nobility in building a chicken coop than in destroying a cathedral.”
Greg Mortenson’s personal appreciation for the people of a small village in Pakistan who cared for him after a climbing expedition led him on an active mission that has resulted in the establishment of over 150 schools in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. An ordinary man turned his feeling of gratitude into deliberate action, life-affirming humanitarianism.
Greg and my customer are both people who take to heart Gandhi’s statement that we must become the change we desire to see in this world.
Thus far Masaru Emoto’s day of prayer has not produced any significant changes in the radioactive waters of the Fukushima nuclear plant. As Japan struggles to heal from the wide range of devastation caused by last month’s massive earthquake and tsunami, some may wonder what a day of prayer could have accomplished anyway.
Yet perhaps the real power of Masaru Emoto’s desire has nothing at all to do with water, but with people seeking out positive ways to support and contribute to a world ripe with need.
Fordrena Griffith (drena_in_awe@postinbox.com) of Aurora works as a bookseller, writes and teaches music.
