Japan Players & Fans Win Our Hearts

As someone who's a bit of a clean-freak, my latest crush is on the Japan team and their fans who have been cleaning up after themselves throughout the World Cup, and inspired others to pitch in. They didn't just clean their area, they went all around the stadium picking up rubbish.

For them, it's an act of respect that is part of their culture: "Japanese people learn the "importance of courtesy" from an early age. "We must not forget to respect our opponents. I believe that they did that act because of the respect they had for everyone: players, coaches, referees, and staff," said Takao Teramoto, a Japanese football player, to SBS.

All the viral posts about this have the same essence: human bonding, happy smiling faces, uplifting others and good vibes - it really changes the whole atmosphere in the stadium.

FIFA World Cup 2022: Japan players and fans continue cleaning up tradition after shock win in Qatar Discover how the feel-good factor following the Samurai Blues' sensational victory in the Group E game carried on after with scenes of fans and players tidying up after their celebrations.?? Olympics.com

Loved this commentary by Herman Singh, who seems to say a lot of really smart things: "It’s all about culture and the rules of society. So if you wanna be a great nation build a great society. And great societies hold each other accountable for preserving harmony and sustainability."

None of this is random behavior - apparently it's embedded into their culture from an early age, so it's perfectly natural behavior for them when they grow up:

Lecturer in Japanese Studies, Dr Masafumi Monden,?said Japanese children are taught in primary school to clean up after themselves. This means when you leave a place, don’t leave it a mess, but leave it at least as clean as the condition you found it in. "While, of course, not everyone follows that even in Japan, ideas like this are embedded into our thinking and practice, to show respect and value what we use." SBS

My Commentary

Now we have proof that the difference between having a great life here together or not, all comes down to a simple shift in attitude - from the old thinking that everyone is here to serve me, to the new thinking of how we can serve everyone. When we all do this together it's a very powerful experience.

And if you've made it this far I'll let you in on a little secret - when you do something over and over above all reason and logic - habit becomes second nature. So at some point your ego stops questioning why you're doing this thing that doesn't make you richer or increase your social media following.

It turns out the best things in life really are free.