I'm so struck today by this unconscionable disaster in Japan. Many of us are left with images today that shock us and beg the question, "what can I do?" Or better yet, "what should I be doing?" I'm typically not a fan of shoulding someone but in this case, I believe that it is our obligation as humans to do something. And we can do something just as easily as we we breathe, think and enjoy the pleasures that exist just by being here on this big beautiful planet.
While so many are suffering on Earth today, I feel that I have to do something.
I can't go rescue people in Japan. I can't put out fires. I can't find lost loved ones or deliver water to people trapped in their homes. I can't figure out how to secure nuclear reactors or put highways back together. I can't tell a mother that her child is gone or a child that her mother is gone. Someone else, somewhere, will do what I cannot do but that does not remove responsibility from me or anyone else.
So I will do what I can, where I can and how I can. What I can do is feel good that I've been giving my time and passion to a volunteer cause helps young girls I've never met. That today I gave my time and knowledge to a friend who is growing into a role much bigger than himself. That tomorrow I will give my birthday to a cause that is dear to my heart. And I will give my time and joy to my mother over the next few days. I will also recycle, call my friends, see a newborn and commit to praying more for peace in the world.
I fear that some people have developed a sense of numbness, a sense of helplessness or surrender in the face of the extreme pain, loss and anguish we have seen so much of lately. It's true that it feels like it is almost too much for a single heart to bear. I fear that some people have given so much to the last disaster that happened - or to the one before it - that they feel they have been exhausted. That they've "given enough" - or even worse, that they've "given too much."
We must all continue to give and to give every single day. Not just when Katrina hits. Not just when Haiti is in ruins. Not just when there is upheaval or celebration over a toppled regime. Not just when you can turn on the TV and be reminded of your responsibility to give. Just like life, where we must continue to celebrate on all the days between the holidays, we must also give on all the days in between. We must learn to give when everything seems well in the world, in our community or in our own home. We must give every single day. In any way we can. We must say hello to a stranger. Ask the clerk at the grocery store about his day and really listen to what he has to say. We must acknowledge a homeless woman and remind her that she is just as important, or intelligent, or worthy as you or me. Let's not look away from someone in a wheelchair. Let's ask a restaurant owner why he is using Styrofoam and then ask him politely not to. Offer someone a ride. Offer your skills to a friend. Start donating to a cause that can do what you cannot. Be more loving toward someone who rubs you the wrong way. Call your estranged father.
Let's stop drawing lines. Let's start building bridges between us. But more than anything, let's start giving something - anything- to someone today. We are all victims of Katrina, Darfur, Haiti, and Japan just as much as we are the hero who pulls bodies from the wreckage or the one who fixes the highways. What none of us should ever be is indifferent because what happens to everyone else happens to us as well.
They are us, and we are them.
I am you, and you are me.
We are one.
And we can all heal the world.
...For the children, and the children's children.
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