10  THINGS   TO LEARN  FROM  JAPAN’S ENCOUNTER 

      WITH   TSUNAMI

1)       THE CALM

Not a single  individual of chest beating
or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been
elevated to a new level

2)       THE DIGNITY

Disciplined queues for water and groceries.

Not a rough word or a gesture.

3)       THE ABILITY

The incredible architects, for instance

The buildings swayed but did not fall.

4)       THE GRACE

People bought them only what they needed

So everybody gets something.

5)       THE ORDER

       No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking On the roads. Just understanding.

6)       THE SACRIFICE

Fifty workers stayed back to pump the water from

The reactor. How they will be rewarded ?

  

7)       THE TENDERNESS

Restaurants cut their prices. An unguarded A.T.M.

Left alone. Strong cared for the weak.

8)       THE TRAINING

The old and the children knew exactly what to do.

They did just that.

9)      THE MEDIA

They showed the magnificent restraint in the bulletins.

No silly reporting. Only calm reportage.

10)    THE CONSCIENCE

 When the power went off in a store, people put the things

  back on the shelves and left quitely.