GIFT #7 - Is it rational...
- Dreamer
- Aug 6, 2020
- 4 min read
Is it rational to be afraid of the work that one is put on this world to do? Writer, Elizabeth Gilbert asked this in a TED Talk in 2009. It is something I have been asking for a while and today, I returned to the question because it is August 6th.
Today is the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. I was in Hiroshima on this day, 34 years ago. I attended the service at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with thousands of others in the morning. I heard the Peace Bell toll at 8:15 a.m. as life grounded to a halt in the city to observe a moment of silence commemorating the time the atomic bomb was dropped. I remember hearing birds chirping amidst the various other bells in the city tolling, with a light breeze blowing. It was somewhat surreal how quiet everything was for the solemn moment. I could not help but think of what it must have been like in 1945 when the people of Hiroshima started about their day, not knowing that their lives would change in one bright flash. Several minutes later, a low hum arose as people and vehicles began moving again and speeches from dignitaries resumed.
The day would continue with a poignant visit to the Peace Memorial Museum, a walk around the park with stops at the Atomic Bomb Dome and the Children’s Peace Monument. This monument was to commemorate the children who died and was inspired by the story of young Sadako Sasaki who died of leukemia at the age of 12, 10 years after exposure to the radiation of the bomb. Sadako believed the legend of the cranes that in folding 1,000 paper cranes, a wish would be granted to her and thus began folding paper cranes throughout her medical treatment. Her story would live on in the novel, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. The book mentions that Sadako only managed to fold about 600 of her cranes before she died and that her classmates completed her goal for her but Sadako’s brother confirms that his sister, in fact, achieved her goal before she passed away. Interestingly enough, almost 20 years after I heard this story in Hiroshima, this novel would become one of the novel units for students in my school the year they graduate elementary school.
I was invited to Hiroshima because I won an international writing competition organized by UNESCO for the youth of the world to observe the milestone 40th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. The" youth" was defined as a young person between the ages of 15 and 30. Entries were encouraged in French, Spanish, and English. Prose and poetry were both accepted. At the time, I was in Secondary Four in a "third world country" (that’s what we were called then) where English was taught as a second language. I had grown up an avid reader and submitted an essay in English, faxed to Paris, headquarters of UNESCO, just before the deadline. I figured I was too late because there was no news of my entry in the weeks that followed.
To my shock, eight months later, I received a registered letter from UNESCO Japan to let me know that my essay was the best entry from the Asia-Pacific region (an area covering Australia, New Zealand, and North America as well). In all, there were five winners from five regions of the world (Europe, Arab States, Africa, South America, and Asia-Pacific). I was invited for a 2-week all-expenses-paid trip to Japan and would attend among other things, an International Student Symposium as well as the Peace Ceremony in Hiroshima on August 6th. I cannot tell you the elation of a teenager from a 3rd world country at the knowledge that she beat out native English-speaking youth at an international writing competition. I share my own grainy photo of the Atomic Bomb Dome here, at the bottom of my blogpost.
That trip marked my perspective on life moving forward. Shaking hands with an old Hiroshima survivor after listening to a panel of Nobel prize winners like Bishop Desmond Tutu sealed the message for me that we all have choices to make in life. War always costs. More than one can imagine. Japan knew that firsthand, the consequences of their own actions that began at Pearl Harbour.
Fast forward to today. This past week, I have been preparing for my upcoming graduate course, listening to some TEDTalks about creativity. Listening to writer Elizabeth Gilbert speak about one’s “elusive creative genius” brought to surface my deep desire to write for a living. I am a closet writer who hopes to be published someday but due to my fear of rejection and therefore failure, have completed none of my writing projects. Gilbert spoke of people who were concerned after the phenomenal success of her book, “Eat, Pray, Love”, who would ask, “Aren’t you afraid that you are never going to be able to top that?”
This question is totally what has stopped me in my tracks all these years. I feel as if I peaked at 17 and that there is no way I could ever top the honour given me by UNESCO. As per Gilbert’s TEDTalk, I am completely afraid that I am never going to have any success. I am fearful the humiliation of rejection will kill me. I also know, however, that the clock continues to tick, and I cannot shake this desire, no,...this need, to write. The late and great Toni Morrison said, “If there’s a book that you want to read and it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” I figured if I waited long enough, the stories in my head and heart would be written but I’m still waiting. Perhaps Ms. Morrison was right. I need to complete my writing projects. Elizabeth Gilbert would concur and tell me not to be afraid, not to be daunted. I’m supposed to show up for my part of the job and write. As for the rest? Time will tell...
Note: for more information about Hiroshima, check out this link:
Comments