Tragedy Too

You may find me referring to the tragedy in Japan in more of my blogs. After each of the unfolding worldly happenings, I find it takes but a short look to find many new things to learn. In many ways each of our own lives runs parallel with the happenings in our world. Our world has its ups and downs just as we do. In days gone by tragedies were only known by word of mouth, later by written word in books and news papers. But, today we sit in our living rooms and only have to press the on button to see history being made, as it is being made.
That on button has caused me to realize just how unimportant and even useless all of our prized “stuff” can become when one is fighting for survival. When I press that on button and see miles and miles of lifeless rubble mixed with those lifeless bodies, it starts me wondering just what part of our lives hold the REAL important part. Could it be that all my prized stuff isn’t that important after all?
In the last blog I listed many ways uncaring folks could justify their uncaring ways about people that they consider different. In this blog we’re going to turn a page and I’m going to list some of the ways I find those brothers and sisters of the world the same. We all have families we care for, we all have our homes, our jobs, our likes and dislikes, each has his own language of his country (although we sometimes feel uncomfortable around someone speaking a language we don’t understand) and each has his or her own beliefs (or should I call it faith), each has their own hopes, joys, and dreams. Probably, each has their own pile of stuff! But maybe the most important thing we ALL must remember is that each and every one is a Child of God. Deep down doesn’t that make us ALL brothers and sisters?
I’ve found deep feelings in my heart, it’s like with each new disaster My Father puts his hands around my heart and gives it a squeeze. Maybe, it’s as I get older it helps me to realize that deep down we’re all family under the skin. Or, could it be my inner spirit talking to me?
I tried to compare the earthquakes and waves to our great terror here on the Gulf Coast, our hurricanes. It has only then that I realized there was one great difference between the two. With the hurricanes we have warnings before they strike. Many times the poor are the ones that take the greatest hits. This gives most of the rest time to flee. With an earthquake and wave the escape time is usually not there. This leaves the bodies of the richest of the rich lying in the rubble alongside the bodies of the poorest of the poor. That kind of disaster plays no favorites!
Each time I see those hundreds and hundreds of new cars that were waiting to be loaded on ships to take them to the dealers on distant shores it helps me realize many of the things I valued just aren’t really that important. It now makes no difference how many cylinders its engine had, how many whistles and bells each had, even its color and last of all how many miles it got on a gallon of gas. Now they all sit there on shore atop each other, nothing more than piles of junk rusting in the mud. They will never again feel that surge of power after the key was turned.
I’ve heard the term “great equalizer”, but it was always a term I never really understood, or paid any attention to, until this tragedy struck. For me, every day since has turned in to be a series of great learning experiences. I now know that often takes our hurts and the hurts of others for us to truly learn.
I just now received another hard squeeze on my heart. As I watched CNN I found them covering some of the many rescues. They were showing a boat returning with several newly found persons, people just pulled from the rubble. A member of the rescue team held out his hand and helped three or four out of the boat. The last person slowly stood up and slowly moved to the edge of the boat then, three of the rescuers almost had to pick her up to lift her out of the boat. The camera moved in and I could see she has an older lady, probably in the late autumn of her life. Then, I saw it; she was clutching an old crooked handled umbrella! Was it the only thing she was able to save? Can you imagine how you would feel if all you had left from your lifetime of work was a worn umbrella?
Did I hear you say you were having a bad day? After the things I’ve seen in the past few days, I don’t think you’ll ever hear me say I’m having a bad day again.