When Hate comes to Paradise ~ Okinawa, Japan

I live on the other side of the world, literally, from where I was raised in Texas. For the last 12 years, though, I have called Okinawa, Japan my home, and I love it here!

It is a beautiful place in a beautiful country, rich with culture all around. However, there is no perfect place in the world, and our communities have their own problems too.

Okinawa is a place that was devastated during the final days of World War 2, when the Japanese military dug themselves into the mountains and caves of Okinawa and fought until the end, many of whom committed ritual suicide rather than surrender.

Unfortunately, and tragically, over a quarter of a million civilians on Okinawa also lost their lives as the US military peppered the island with artillery shells trying to uproot the Japanese Imperial Navy.

Since then the road has been anything but cordial. Well, without heartache. Every so often in our modern Okinawa, an American commits a heinous crime of hate and/or passion against a Japanese citizen and it completely devastates all of the steps the Okinawans and Americans took towards each other in the years leading up to a crime. This, coupled with the protest by Okinawans and mainland Japanese to return to lands that US bases occupy back to Okinawa, are a dark cloud always looming on the horizon, that can blow in at anytime.

Right now, for many Okinawas in the Okinawa community, the hate runs deep. I think being an African American who grew up in Texas, sometimes living in townships that were openly hostile towards African Americans, has someone what prepared me for the hate, but it does not dismiss the fact that our little island is going through some massive changes. Things will never be the same again, and maybe they should not be.

In the coming weeks, all of us will come to know who we really are, the value of human life, but I hope the power of true love for our fellow man.

Benjamin Moriniere "Sensei"

Hard Work and Consistency Breed Success SO NEVER GIVE UP

It is simple… NEVER GIVE UP.

After training thousands of people in martial arts and fitness over the years, I can tell you there is NO substitute for hard work, and coming in a close second is attendance, i.e. consistency.

A champion in life or anything is someone that falls down but never gives up, a black belt is a white belt that never quit, a winner is a person that just won’t take losing for an answer…  Consistent hard work breeds success, period.

Here is the thing though… All successful people experience some valleys in their lives, but find a way to not only overcome doldrums, but use those down and out times or feelings to fuel self-development and progress.

I have had the honor and privilege of being a champion at many different things in life from football, to track and field, martial arts and even designing buildings.

One thing is for sure. On the way towards every single one of those life-changing moments, I ran into some horrible, terrible obstacles, failed many times and definitely lost a lot.

The only way past those obstacles though, especially when you fall flat on your face, is sheer will power, faith and a lot of stubbornness; hopefully a dash of great support through friends and mentors.

In parting let me leave you with a quick story. During my time as a logistics officer with the US Army, part of my job was to ensure that we kept our forces fueled. Sometimes the source of the fuel was a “gas station” or sometimes it was a huge oil tanker in the harbor. We would hook up extremely long hoses, or run the fuel through pipelines for miles so that the fuel could reach its destination. Sure enough there were hills, valley, rivers and mountains that pipelines had to navigate.  So, every so often we prepared a pumps station. This pump station provided an extra PUSH for the fuel, especially when the fuel pipeline was traveling up an incline. Otherwise the fuel would slow down to the point where it was too heavy and the pressure was too great for the fuel to reach its destination.

Well, friends, make up in your mind that each goal is not an end point, but a pump station in a much longer journey called life. Stay consistent, push forward and when you reach a goal, it will provide you the motivation and energy to keep reaching for the next goal.

NEVER give up, NEVER give in. NEVER quit. You CAN do it!

~ Benjamin Moriniere "Sensei"