Learn from the World, Not Just About the World
My dear Grandson,
There is something I want you to remember long after you have forgotten many of the things your grandfather has told you.
I do not want you to become a person who knows the most about the world. I want you to become a person who is always willing to learn from the world.
That may sound like a small difference, but to me, it is the difference between knowledge and wisdom.
Throughout my journey, especially through my experiences with cross-cultural learning and my relationship with Japan and the Hippo Family Club, I have learned that the world is much larger than our own experience. Every country, every family, every language, and every person carries a different story.
You will never be able to know everything.
And that is perfectly all right.
What matters is that you remain curious enough to keep learning.
Curiosity — Always Be Willing to Ask
Never lose your curiosity.
When you encounter something you do not understand, don’t immediately say, “That’s strange.” Instead, ask:
“Why do they do it that way?”
Curiosity opens doors that certainty keeps closed.
When you meet people from different cultures, listen to their stories. Learn their language if you can. Eat their food. Observe how they live. Ask questions.
The world becomes much more interesting when you stop assuming that your way is the only way.
Respect — Differences Are Not Mistakes
You will meet people who speak, think, worship, eat, and live differently from you.
Do not be afraid of those differences.
Respect them.
Respect does not mean that you must agree with everything. It means that you recognize another person’s dignity even when their way of life is different from yours.
Remember this:
Difference is not necessarily a problem to be solved. Sometimes, it is a lesson waiting to be understood.
Humility — You Do Not Know Everything
The older I become, the more I realize how little I actually know.
There is always another story.
Another perspective.
Another experience.
Another way of seeing the same world.
So never be ashamed to say:
“I don’t know.”
And never be afraid to say:
“Teach me.”
True learning begins when we have enough humility to admit that we still have something to learn.
Courage — Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
The world will not come to you.
Sometimes, you have to go toward it.
Travel. Meet strangers. Stay with people whose language you do not speak. Enter places where you do not immediately understand the rules.
You may feel uncomfortable.
That is normal.
But growth often begins exactly where comfort ends.
My experiences with cross-cultural exchange taught me that some of the most meaningful lessons in life happen when we are willing to leave the familiar behind.
Empathy — Try to See Through Another Person’s Eyes
One of the most important things I hope you will learn is empathy.
Before judging someone, try to understand what the world looks like from where they are standing.
Ask yourself:
“If I had grown up in their family, their community, their country, and their circumstances, might I see things differently?”
You do not have to abandon your own identity to understand another person’s.
You simply have to make room for another perspective.
Dialogue — Talk Before You Judge
When people disagree, the easiest thing is to walk away, criticize, or label each other.
The harder thing is to sit down and talk.
Choose the harder thing.
Listen carefully.
Speak honestly.
Ask questions.
And give the other person the opportunity to explain themselves.
Dialogue does not always produce agreement.
But it can produce understanding.
And sometimes, understanding is more important than agreement.
Friendship — Make the World Personal
Statistics can tell you about a country.
Books can tell you about its history.
But friendship allows you to understand its people.
A friend in another country is no longer simply “a Japanese person,” “an Indonesian,” or “an American.”
They become someone you know.
Someone whose family you remember.
Someone whose laughter you recognize.
Someone whose story becomes part of your own story.
That is the power of cross-cultural friendship.
It turns the abstract idea of another culture into a human relationship.
Contribution — Bring Something Home
And finally, remember that learning should not end with yourself.
When you travel, don’t come home with only photographs and souvenirs.
Bring something more valuable home:
an idea, a lesson, a new perspective, a friendship, or a better way of doing something.
Then ask yourself:
“How can what I have learned become useful to someone else?”
This is what I believe makes learning meaningful.
We learn from others not simply to become more knowledgeable, but to become more useful.
A Legacy, Not a Lesson
My dear Grandson,
Perhaps one day you will travel farther than I have. You may speak more languages than I do. You may meet people and experience cultures that I have never encountered.
I hope you do.
And when you do, I hope you remember that the purpose of your journey is not to prove that you know the world.
It is to discover how much more there is to learn.
Be curious.
Be respectful.
Be humble.
Be courageous.
Be empathetic.
Choose dialogue over judgment.
Build friendships across boundaries.
And whenever you learn something valuable, find a way to contribute it to others.
If you remember only one thing from your grandfather, let it be this:
“I do not want you to become the person who knows the most about the world. I want you to become the person who is always willing to learn from the world.”
That, perhaps, is the greatest education I can leave you.
Not a collection of answers.
But a lifelong willingness to keep asking questions.
Your Grandfather
