I want to start something in the streets of Bali!
I'm currently in Bali. I'm planning for a sustainable business that the locals can run.
The reason why I started thinking about this business is this.
When I was doing my usual walk and saw 2 mothers on the street carrying a baby. The ladies were selling tissue. There is really no reason to buy from them when they are in front of the mini-mart selling with more options.
I don’t really need the tissue, but I can give them some money, which I prefer not to. The reason is that I think it motivates them to stay the same and stop them from being creative to change. I don’t think what “their business” is very sustainable.
I did give them some water, fruit, and Yakult for them to have a better appetite for that day at least, and wondered how can I share how to fish, not just give them the fish on the way back home.
The incident kept bothering me. My airbnb host asked how my day was when I got back, so I told them about what I came across. They were a bit surprised that it bothered me. He said, “It’s everywhere and quite common. They have no education, they usually end up working as prostitutes, and have babies.”
When I was a student, I backpacked Cambodia and Vietnam, and was told that I shouldn’t really be giving money to these people. It actually makes things worse.
There are occasions where gangsters will chop off some parts of the body from their “workers” and put them on the streets. People like me that are bothered will put free money then it promotes the gangsters to produce more people like this. So the ladies carrying the babies might be the same.
That’s why at least, I will provide them nutrition, not cash.
It's the same pattern...
I was in Vietnam before Bali, and there was another lady that was in the same situation. I was doing my usual walk to the closest park from my Airbnb.
Then, I saw a lady on the street selling lottery tickets. When I walked passed her, I could also see her daughter jumping up and down, content even though it was burning hot outside.
She's probably very young, 3 years old maybe? I continued to walk a bit, then stopped to think a bit. My feet turned toward the FamilyMart (convenience store) across the street.
What makes people happy?
The more I travel around Southeast Asia, the more I realize wealth is concentrated in knowledge and experience.
With the right knowledge, these ladies can have the opportunity and option to better their lives, and make their finance more sustainable.
Don’t get me wrong. I'm not trying to say that having money equals happiness. Some people have an unbelievable amount of money but they're not happy. I come from Japan where the most successful people even choose to kill themselves, with every fame and money you could ask for.
On the other hand, the kids in poor countries like Africa don’t look like they have money, but are content that they have a body they can dance to. I like playing the happy dance from Africa on Youtube. Cool moves, and it makes me happy, too.
As long as everyone is content with their lives, it feels right. The ladies I saw on the streets of Vietnam nor Bali didn't look happy at all.
A little education will help
I think education to prevent them from potential danger, the least amount of nutrition they need to take and how to prepare them, and literacy are the basics to “options to change their situation, if they choose to.”
Sometimes, you only need a small trigger of opportunity, and you’re let’s with options. Then it's really up to you how you'll live life.
Those that are content should continue on with their current life. But those that want a change, should get the opportunity to try and decide if they want to proceed or go back.
Japan’s wealth is no magic
Japan where I am from is known to be a wealthy country, and it sure is. When you measure it with American Standards, the wealth statistics might be on a decline, but Japan is still very wealthy. Not just rich in money but wealthy.
But the wealth really isn’t magical at all. It’s just that after the World War, the Japanese cared about the whole country to prosper. They reached out to their neighbors suffering in life. They let people eat if they were starving. They worked hard everyday, educated themselves everyday, to contribute to each other, and it compounded a lot.
It might sound silly, but we generally like working very much.
So the most hardworking people in Japan, are the people in the top of the financial ladder. We don’t really think work is work.
But Japan became rich enough, and convenient enough. So I do think there is a confusion among how to stay motivated. Or should we really be trying to make a lot of money? Is there a point being educated to contribute to society?
I also don’t know lol. But there is a fulfillment when you contribute. And no matter the outcome, you have something you learned, which leads to your next action, and the next, and it’s interesting. Humans have always been like that.
There's nothing to give from FamilyMart...
I realized that in the convenience store, a lot of things are not healthy.
I wanted to give them something uplifting. So something I can put my message to have faith, something also nutritious.
It's burning hot outside, so maybe a big bottle of ice water. Then I chose to give matcha chocolate, which won’t take long to melt, but that looked like the best option I had.
The girl gave me a sunflower smile
The girl was already super content from the beginning but burst into happiness when I gave her the water and chocolate.
I can't speak Vietnamese nor I carried my phone that time, so I greeted them and left. The mother also gave me an expression that I will never forget.
But that's just for that day, and it doesn't really do much.
Then, what my dad used to tell me a lot will pop into my head.
"Don't ask for the fish, learn to catch the fish"
So what can I do, to share how the mother can fish for their living?
I actually have an idea. I will write about it soon. Origami and miso.
Follow Ryu Aomi for more to come :)
I also love to experience how locals live in each destination, and share what I learned.
After closing my travel business in Japan during Covid, I realized I didn’t have the right mindset to sustain the business, and got into Buddhism, mindfulness, knowing myself more.
I realized I wasn’t very materialistic and loved engaging in cooking, nature, and good relationships.
To know more about me, I wrote it here.
Here are the SNS channels I have, but I mainly focus on Twitter at the moment.
I started blogging in Japanese, too! I hope it becomes something useful for those who are interested in Japan and who study Japanese and plan to live there.
These 2 books changed my life.
If things are great, keep it up! You’re in the right path. If things aren’t working out for you, then these helped me a lot.
Good habits are essential to achieve your own way of success!
Managing relationships are challenging, but it’s a skill you can learn.
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