When organizing an academic conference program, I was reminded that what seems reasonable from my side may not feel reasonable to someone else. We all have our own expectations, but those expectations are often little more than personal wishes. From conference schedules to international conflicts, misunderstandings begin when one side forgets that the other side also has its own circumstances.
When I put together the program for an academic conference, someone complained to me, saying, “But this was what I wanted to do.”
Well, to be more precise, it was probably not so much that this person wanted to do it personally, but rather that they wanted one of their pupils to present their own research. Still, in this world, all sorts of unexpected circumstances arise.
Nothing ever fits perfectly into the shape we had imagined.
Our expectations are betrayed again and again, but expectations themselves are often selfish wishes in disguise.
Even when it comes to the themes and order of presentations at an academic meeting, each speaker has their own circumstances. My wishes cannot possibly match the convenience of every participant.
Even when I ask someone to do something with good intentions, thinking it may help them grow, there will always be people who find the request troublesome or burdensome.
My convenience may well be someone else’s inconvenience.
If we look beyond our immediate surroundings, even regional conflicts have arguments on both sides.
Because I am Japanese, I inevitably tend to think first from Japan’s point of view. But the countries and regions surrounding Japan also have their own circumstances.
Food supply, population issues, climate problems, political systems—the list goes on.
That is why it is meaningless to condemn the other side one-sidedly and, in the end, let things turn into war.
Everyone should understand this. And yet, before people sit down and talk, someone strikes first, and something irreversible happens.
Human beings are foolish creatures.
I myself have probably caused trouble for others and pushed people away without realizing it, simply because I have acted according to my own convenience.
It is regrettable, but some things cannot be undone.
What is convenient for me may already be inconvenient for someone else.
・・・
Vocabulary for Learners
- convenience：都合、便利さ
- inconvenience：不都合、迷惑
- complain：不満を言う
- pupil：弟子、教え子
- circumstances：事情
- selfish wishes in disguise：身勝手な願望が姿を変えたもの
- burdensome：負担になる、面倒な
- one-sidedly：一方的に
- irreversible：取り返しのつかない
- cannot be undone：元には戻せない、取り返しがつかない
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