Nagoyaka Gaiko: “Deep Cleaning for the New Year”
by Philippine Consul General Celeste Vinzon-Balatbat
08 January 2023, Chunichi Shimbun
In the Philippines, we welcome the new year with firecrackers, fireworks, and safer noisemakers such as party horns, pots, pans, and empty cans. The belief is that the loud noise shall drive away evil spirits.In Japan, people do a deep cleaning at home before the year-end. The belief is that one’s home should be ready to welcome “Toshigami,” the kami (Shinto deity) who visits each home at the beginning of the year.
As part of these new year’s traditions, why don’t we take our deep cleaning one step further: Let us also deep clean our minds by driving away negativity and bringing in positivity.
- First, through a sense of gratitude: Let us learn to count our blessings. Robert Fulghum, author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, teaches us the difference between a problem and an inconvenience: “If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire – then you’ve got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump.”
- Second, through the will to work hard—and do our work well. The fresh mangoes from Guimaras Island in the Philippines are our most famous variety: sweet, soft, absolutely delectable.
The website of BA Farms, one of our producers, describes the painstaking process of growing these golden fruits:
“… Farmers individually wrap each mango fruit in the trees to protect it from fruit insects. Upon maturity, the mangoes are then meticulously harvested. After harvest, the mangoes undergo hot water treatment to protect them from stem end rot and fungal disease. They are then dried, packed, and prepared for shipping. Moreover, each mango goes through the Brix Test wherein the sweetness level of the fruit is tested. Only the fruits that pass the Brix Test are allowed to leave the island.”
This painstaking process takes time and effort. Do we have the patience and perseverance to perfect our craft, as these mango growers do?
Sam Ewing, an American baseball player who eventually came to play in Japan, shares this observation: “Hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”
- And third, through the grace to keep calm, carry on, and keep the faith. In the words of a fellow Filipino diplomat based in Tokyo, “God’s plans are bigger than our dreams.”
Our rational mind is prone to experiencing frustration and disappointment, given our limited capacity to fathom life’s questions. It is said, however, that our soul knows the geography of our destiny.
Let us turn the new year into a new hope, through a keen sense of gratitude, a positive work ethic, and the grace of faith.
A shorter version of this article in Nihonggo can be accessed at the Chunichi Shimbun through the following link: https://www.chunichi.co.jp/article/613950
Consul General Celeste Vinzon-Balatbat is a career diplomat from the Philippines. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics and a master’s degree in international studies. She held jobs in banking and the academe before joining the foreign service, and assumed her post in Nagoya in November 2020. She is married to a fellow Filipino diplomat, and they have a daughter and a pet cat.
END
