Tip 194: To cherish or to dispose/demolish/retrench/divorce

I was cycling past a familiar landmark. It was previously the site of Citibank Shinjuku Minamiguchi along Koshukaido main road. But it has been demolished and a new building is under construction. It seems only yesterday that I was stepping into this bank to apply for my first Japanese credit card. It does not seem like a strong attachment, yet it feels like something is amiss in a familiar picture of my life. Would all this discontinuity in memories feed our values that it is alright to throw the old and bring in the new? Is society making decisions on what can be done faster, rather than taking time to mend the old, hold on to sentimental feelings and cherish the past? Does this explain more common practices of disposal vs. repair, demolishment vs. refurbishment, retrenchment vs. retraining, divorce vs. patience?












A scene in a Chinese movie The Road Home stays in my mind. The broken pieces of a bowl was not discarded, but was nailed together painstakingly and with care to form a bowl that can be used again. It is because the bowl represents memories. Memories of using it together with loved ones. Memories of having someone create it out of love and present it as a gift. Do we cherish such memories? How do we teach our children to cherish such memories? In the bible, God emphasizes the need to remember events in life. As we humans have limited memories, its good to learn to cherish them more, since we would later see the bigger picture and be appreciative of that which has past and learn from it.












Should we learn to treat objects with more respect and give them away rather than throw them into the garbage? Use internet groups to find people who would want items that can be reused if they are in fairly good condition. Another good practice that I see my wife doing (which I have yet to practice myself) is to wrap items nicely such as paper or plastic wrappers of chopsticks that we plan to dispose of before throwing them away. Would this lead to cherishing the old more? At least we demonstrate respect and dignity.












(Photo shows a 400 year old Japanese garden at the New Otani Hotel, Tokyo).