gotohealth's Blog

 Emotion is a complex, temporary psychological and physiological state and physical functioning is a reaction to internal or external events. Emotions influence our physical health! 

 

Alan Watkins is an influential thought leader, business consultant and doctor, celebrated for his pioneering work in cultivating sustainable, ethical, and purpose-driven organizations. Today, I’m listening to his TED talk and learning; the most important lesson he chooses to teach his children is: “control our own emotions”. 

 

I’m aware of a couple dozen emotions, but Watkins says there are over 34,000. I pride myself of my skill, learning to control my emotions, but now I need to deal with a new one most every moment as I negotiate the connections in my life? 

 

Dr. Watkins was first a medical doctor for about 12 years. Then, he arrived at the understanding that “treating emotions” with large corporations make a bigger difference in physical health and finding purpose in our lives:  helping metaphorically 500 employees at a single company influencing their family and community, instead of a single patient. His influence has become worldwide.

 

I first chose Nursing as my profession. I loved Lewis and Clark College, but soon hated my practical nurses training at Good Samaritan Hospital in 1957 because all we learned were procedures to follow. I was often the only one on duty, even as a student, at one of the hospital wings on the night shift those days. One of my inborn skills is to complete what I start. Therefore, I completed my formal education with a degree from the U of Washington in Public Health Nursing. Fortunately, I was fired from my first job with King County. 

 

Getting married and raising a family, for girls, was a priority in the 1950s but after the girls left home, I went back to the U of Washington and got my masters in Psychosocial Nursing. I loved that!! My thesis was: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN WITH RIGHT BRAIN AND LEFT BRAIN THINKING.

 

Thirty years later, I am a facilitator of a writing group: OMOIDE (MEMORIES) at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW), which I helped incorporate in 2003. I am currently finding purpose for our organization to benefit our larger Seattle/Washington community with Japanese Heritage Values as we publish the OMOIDE VI book.

 

Iain McGilchrist (born 1953[1]) is a British psychiatrist,[2] philosopher and neuroscientist who wrote the 2009 book The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World. He further suggests balancing our Wester World left brain thinking with right brain example from Asia and most often from Japan. Japanese Values is often cited in my estimation because Japan had the Edo period from 1600-1800ad for bringing their Arts and Culture to a PhD level. Research indicates that connecting with cultural heritage significantly boosts well-being and happiness

 Listening to Noah benShea: “Energy can only be transformed, we are energy. Ride the horse in the direction it’s going. The wind in your face, is God giving you kisses. The two great days in your life are the day you were born and the day you know why you were born. Religion is kindness. Humility is not afraid to be honest.” Today is March 3, 2026 with the usual anxiety producing news.

 

I treasure my opportunity to spend time in my room, watching podcasts like NEXT LEVEL SOUL and learn about myself. I don’t have to sell and downsize since Sam passed eight years ago because my second daughter and her two girls have come to live where she grew up, here on Mercer Island. I get to live in my room and let them take over the house; with all their friends and remodeling.

 

My response is to be grateful of my situation: I awaken each morning surrounded by the painting of Mercer Island, before we knew that we would eventually live here, given to me as a my wedding present by my husband of 56 years, as well as a photo of Sam and I looking at each other in the back of the church just after we said our vows. He’s holding up the back of the gown, with the long trailing back “obi” (Japanese sash), as it no longer needs to trail and I’m looking back at him. We both look particularly pleased with what just happened! It was a black and white snapshot taken by my uncle before we left for the reception. Now, it’s a 20x20 colored and framed picture given to me as a commemorative gift from the Washington State Historical Society when I got the award for their LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT commemoration in 2024 at the Tacoma museum.

 

Sam and I both grew up as part of the poorest farm families in our community and had a budget of $15 a week for groceries when we first married in 1961. We had very little extra money, but we were always not afraid to buy books and outside my room, in the first landing of the stairs, Sam built a floor to second story ceiling book shelf.

 

I cherish our view of Lake Washington and of the annual blossoming of the trees, now that it’s March. Inside, our house, built in 1973, has many plants hanging from our balcony and several from when Sam and I first married. He had a green thumb and so far we’re keeping them going. Our Seattle Capitol Hill house, living there 11 years, also had a view and we watched the north floating bridge across Lake Washington being built.

 

We have affirmations all over our rooms and the shadowbox above my computer desk reads:

 

I FEEL HEALTHY!

I FEEL HAPPY!

I FEEL TERRIFIC!

Yesterday, I had lunch with Ruth, sharing a crab dip at Palisades restaurant on Seattle’s waterfront. She grew up in a fundamental Christian environment like me. Neither Ruth nor I currently attend church regularly. So, I immediately felt free to share that I still pray, regularly, like I did as a child to an “entity in the sky”, but I went on to explain that my current path is to define that entity, assuming that as a human I am not capable of actually knowing. 

 

Ruth, wearing a pair of funky glasses, explained that she enjoyed getting together because, at age 87, I stay in the learning mode. We agreed that we are avoiding conversations with people who talk about their latest ailments. We also congratulated ourselves in being drug free and not on any prescriptive medications. 

 

There is an author named Reza Aslan. In his book titled GOD, he writes in his second chapter that each of us need to find our own definition of GOD. Aslan also assumes there are no two definitions that are alike, as humans.

 

I felt comfortable for Ruth and I to talk about politics. I have always thought about wanting to appreciate both left and right thinking. Sam and I chose to each register in the opposite party, when that was a requirement in Washington State. We now live in an environment where most of people I meet feel free to express themselves and do so. My goal is to keep learning and be comfortable with individuals who make me feel I have to believe and protest as they do - on both sides and in the middle.

 

I want “connections” and conversations, but I also need to learn to not react to areas of differences in the conversations. 

Last November, I had a resignation letter ready on email because I felt my ideas as a board member of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington  (JCCCW) were not being heard and at age 87, it was time for me to back away.  All I had to do was “send”.  I decided to give myself a few days to think about the wording. In the meantime my friend Lori came over for coffee. She talked me into holding off. 

 

I than decided that I could change my attitude and practice contributing what value I have and not be offended by disagreements. Therefore, as a member of the Fundraising Committee, we are reexamining our next steps and recruiting more ideas for how our Japanese arts and culture can benefit our Seattle/Washington community the next decades and even 100 years from now.

 

Listening to Simon Sinek interview Angela Duckworth, Harvard professor of psychology,  I am impressed with the statement: “Leveraging each individual’s skills for the good of the play”.  But because we're not suggesting Communism, I’m talking about finding the individuals with the best skills for contributing for the good of the whole. 

 

Today’s social media is reactive and individualistic. The daily news is divisive. I’ve stayed away from participating. But I’m also learning to manage my emotions and follow podcasters like Arthur Brooks, Harvard professor, who teaches HAPPINESS. That happiness is not an emotion, but a daily practice of, “enjoyment, satisfaction and meaning” and finding those qualities that I can practice in my individual daily path of life!

 

We can use the facts about how our Japanese in America were treated the last 100 years, with discrimination and unfair incarceration during WWII with Japan. We can publicize how we used our strong heritage values to overcome and succeed financially, to be the minority with the highest per capita income and white collar jobs.

 

I have a dream! Share our stories of hardship with school children across our state and inspire them to look at their own heritages to similarly use heritage values for succeeding in their own lives. Psychological research verifies this practice in success for finding our individual paths and purposes of life!

 

Tourists to Seattle can come and learn that one of the highlights of this area is of the Japanese in America contributions.

 

This month, February 2026, I have confirmation of a surprise grant funding from U of Connecticut Japanese History Project and decided to apply it for publishing OMOIDE VI (Memories), book. I’ve had a lot of synchronicity in my life. Whether these incidents are predestined or not, I am taking the path of making the most of things that happen daily and the people showing up in my life. 

 

Janine Brodine is our coach. We have 21 players/writers and have made 51 game downs/stories. Passes for proofing, through the internet, have resulted in several - game first and tens. The goal is to get it published in time for the JCCCW Cherry Blossom Festival 60th Anniversary at the Seattle Center in April 2026. 

 

NO ONE HERO, several stories of strong offensive and defensive incidents using Japanese Heritage Values!

 

GO TO omoidestories.com for a description of our OMOIDE project in our 35th year. 

I’m being asked:

1. What is the message that you hope to convey to the next generation through Sam's comics and his story? 

2. What does this award mean to you? Your family? The community?

 

I was at a meeting where about 30 of us were gathered from various Japanese Community Organizations, I think at St Peter’s Church, during planning stages of developing the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW) around 2002. We were asked to break up into pairs and come up with our purposes. 

 

Here’s what I shared, "When our first daughter was born, my husband and I stared at her morning, noon and night saying: 'Last year she was a nothing.' It occurs to us that we needed to be good parents and might see great grandchildren in our lives. Therefore, I want to be of influence with our Japanese Heritage Values to see great-grandchildren that are honest, kind, responsible, courageous and contributors to community."

 

Sam was the one who talked me in to taking the part time job in 1970 to help start the Japanese Collection at the U of WA Suzzallo Library Archives. In 2012, it dawned on me that his love of comics could benefit the North Am Post (NAP) and also pay for JCCCW ads. We decided to use Shig Osawa, who was considered the first Nisei born in the Seattle area in 1891 and whom I had interviewed in 1970, as the protagonist. Sam made sure he had 6 months of comic strips ready before they started weekly in the NAP from September of 2012 to the end of 2017 when Sam died. There were a few left that lasted through 2018 when the NAP became bi-monthly.

 

We have had tremendous response from as far away as New York City, saying how much they are resonating with Sam's cartoon strip stories. I am proud that our daughter is able to share her skills with design and story telling. So far, our five grandchildren are pleased to have Japanese Heritage. 

 

The Japanese were the largest ethnic community in Washington during the 1900s. Current literature and science suggest that Asian influence balances the Western philosophy of left brain thinking with right brain input that balances human existence. The Japanese had the Edo Period where the arts and culture were brought to a PhD level. Therefore, we are excited to share our Japanese In America stories that benefit the greater community.