Getting Ready to Mix It up with Mixi

Tonight is going to be a first for me. I’ll be giving what we call a Guest Event (public talk) for people who have subscribed to the Rose Method special interest group in the big social networking website called Mixi. The group was started by one of my very loved students, Nagiko Sunadori-san. When planning for this current trip, VOICE staff and I decided to devote an evening especially to people who have been posting away at this site.

It will be a small group, more like 30 than 70 (which is the number we’ll have in the room for a Guest Event tomorrow night). Surely there will be aura readings, empathic merges, and a lot of laughter.

I don’t know what it will be like exactly, but I’m sure I will like it. Surprises are such a regular, predictable part of my life in Japan.

Last night I went for a stroll in this neighborhood. I’ve stayed in this neighborhood, Hiroo, five of my previous trips here, and I’ve always found time to pound the pavement. Well, last night I turned onto a street where I hadn’t gone before and what opened up? About five more miles of this place called Hiroo.

It’s incredibly elegant, reminiscent of Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side of New York or, in Washington, Dupont Circle. Gorgeous architecture, tony shops, fragrant restaurants, people strolling the most put-together outfits.

 Then picture the streets, quiet, even serene. (At least if you don’t speak the language well enough to tell when are quietly arguing.)

Certainly every street is squeaky clean.

If I could bring back one characteristic to America, that would be it. Last week I went to Harajuku, a place that’s a favorite among teenagers. One huge department store, Le Foret, didn’t seem to include a single adult over 30 except for indulgent mothers with daughters… and me. Ten floors of teen fashion and the dewy faces of emerging adults who “already know everything.”

Teens swarming the streets of Takeshita Dori, teens dressed to the nines. Yet nobody is screaming. Nobody’s throwing trash on the floor or rolling eyes at the occasional grownup. Just the great energy of young people, full of promise and hope and adventure.

 I’m ready for my adventure tonight. Definitely. Bring on Mixi!