(no subject)
Excerpted from a letter I wrote in reply to a dear friend:
So you asked what is on my mind and in my heart today ... do you ever feel like each day the world slowly crumbles at your feet yet there is nothing you can do about it? Last night, my mom was watching a documentary that gathered many people's video footage of the tsunami that hit Japan. I guess at the time, I didn't follow the story too closely. Honestly, I think I avoid following news like that, about massive destruction, suffering, and loss ... I think it makes me feel guilty about the way I live. I take for granted every middle-class American comfort and luxury I have, even wanting more, more, more. So I just don't watch it---how else can I continue living this way? Last week, I browsed through photos of the Somali famine/crisis ... it was really eye-opening to see those suffering from it, especially the malnourished children! They are literally skin and bones, eyes bulging, absolutely emaciated. I wonder if they have enough strength left to cry, or are hydrated enough to form tears. I made a donation to Save the Children that night ... their plea is "$20 can feed a child for 20 days. $50 for 50. $100 for 100." I'm grateful for the existence of all of these wonderful organizations---but my heart aches---both for the suffering and those trying their best to help them. So I helped feed a child for the time being ... but what happens after 100 days? After the summer drought is over and no amount of rain can wash away all the hunger, all the thirst, all the pain that exists in that corner of the world and so many others? It's amazing how small our world can be sometimes. Yet it is so big that such misery and destruction can, not only exist, but persevere, and I am so far removed that it doesn't affect me. I am unaware. And there is nothing I can do about it ...
Tell me what's on your mind, friend.
Slowing down to write with pen and paper can bring out and illuminate so much that would have otherwise gotten lost in the motions of daily life.
So you asked what is on my mind and in my heart today ... do you ever feel like each day the world slowly crumbles at your feet yet there is nothing you can do about it? Last night, my mom was watching a documentary that gathered many people's video footage of the tsunami that hit Japan. I guess at the time, I didn't follow the story too closely. Honestly, I think I avoid following news like that, about massive destruction, suffering, and loss ... I think it makes me feel guilty about the way I live. I take for granted every middle-class American comfort and luxury I have, even wanting more, more, more. So I just don't watch it---how else can I continue living this way? Last week, I browsed through photos of the Somali famine/crisis ... it was really eye-opening to see those suffering from it, especially the malnourished children! They are literally skin and bones, eyes bulging, absolutely emaciated. I wonder if they have enough strength left to cry, or are hydrated enough to form tears. I made a donation to Save the Children that night ... their plea is "$20 can feed a child for 20 days. $50 for 50. $100 for 100." I'm grateful for the existence of all of these wonderful organizations---but my heart aches---both for the suffering and those trying their best to help them. So I helped feed a child for the time being ... but what happens after 100 days? After the summer drought is over and no amount of rain can wash away all the hunger, all the thirst, all the pain that exists in that corner of the world and so many others? It's amazing how small our world can be sometimes. Yet it is so big that such misery and destruction can, not only exist, but persevere, and I am so far removed that it doesn't affect me. I am unaware. And there is nothing I can do about it ...
Tell me what's on your mind, friend.
Slowing down to write with pen and paper can bring out and illuminate so much that would have otherwise gotten lost in the motions of daily life.