Ireland: Enjoying Time as a Family

Dr. Thomas G. Walsh, UPF Secretary General
Dublin, Ireland
July 13, 2006

Mother Moon and Kook Jin traveled to Dublin, Ireland on July 13. We gained an hour en route, leaving a little extra time prior to the event. It was a beautiful sunny, mild day, so on the way from the airport, at the suggestion of Dr. Yong Cheol Song, regional chair of UPF-Europe, the group took some time to visit the campus of Trinity College in Central Dublin. Considered to be the Harvard or Oxford of Ireland, Trinity College contains the most priceless Irish treasure, the Book of Kells. This was followed by a walk down Grafton Street, which is known for its musicians and performers, to Stevens Green, a beautiful park where Mother Moon, Kook Jin and Ji Hye had coffee and scones. As they strolled through the park, the three held hands together, the son on one side and the daughter-in-law on the other.

It is beautiful to see them together and enjoying one another’s company. I think of the sentence in the speech each night about continually growing in love within a family and never tiring or, in fact increasingly enjoying, one another’s company.

On that note, here are a few anecdotes about family love. Each night after the speech Mother Moon calls her husband from wherever she is. Often Kook Jin and Shin Joong (one of the grandchildren) also talk briefly. I am generally not around during these calls, but once or twice I was nearby as an eavesdropper, and they are obviously enjoying one another.

In the speech book that Mother Moon reads from every day, pictures of Father Moon and their children and grandchildren are placed between the pages, so that as she stands at the podium and reads the text she is reminded of those dearest to her.

Every day, through Internet connection, Father Moon watches Mother Moon and Kook Jin deliver their messages. At the close of the main event, Shin Joon and Ji Hye join Mother Moon and Kook Jin for the final three cheers, making it a three-generation celebration. Each night when Mother Moon, Kook Jin and Shin Joong return to Geneva after a long day, Father Moon is waiting for them at the elevator lobby to welcome them. He is filled with joy each day to see them return.

The main event in Dublin went very well. The hall was filled with 350 people. Halvard Iversen, assisted by native son Jack Corley and many others, put together an excellent program.

A symbol of the modern Ireland was the diversity of performers after the speeches. There was a girls traditional Irish dancing group, African dancers from Cameroon, a Philippine community children's dance and singing group, Sikh and Hindu dancers from India, and a youth abstinence group from the UK, WAIT.

Over a lunch of bulgogi, chopchae, kimchi, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, there was a chance to spend a few minutes with Kook Jin after Mother Moon and Ji Hye departed. Dr. Song, Halvard Iversen, and Tim Reed were sitting with Kook Jin, who likes to learn about the local movement and its situation in each nation. His questions are put forward gently and simply, yet he is keenly perceptive, reflective and insightful. The conversation turned toward matters related to leadership and management. He mentions how success in any enterprise is linked to core management practices: setting up a clear, transparent, objective, factual reporting system; recognizing and rewarding good performance; and addressing causes and finding immediate solutions to poor performance.

He points out that an organization suffers when good performance is not recognized or rewarded -- or worst of all, is suppressed or penalized. Furthermore, good leadership is not about doing all the work yourself but being “an honest broker” among a variety of talented contributors, having good judgment skills based on experience, and making good decisions based on honest accurate reporting. If very good people are not adequately recognized or rewarded, this affects growth, especially if ineffective leadership is rewarded.
  
In Geneva, Father Moon has been fishing each day on Lake Geneva, going out with Peter Kim, Rev. Joong Hyun Pak, and others. Each day he has caught a large pike, 101 centimeters long one day and 105 centimeters the following day. Yesterday, the fish was laid out on the coffee table in their suite so Mother Moon could see it. Heiner Handschinn described their search for a good fishing boat and guide. The person they finally found is a 14-year-old lad, who is apparently doing a bang-up job.