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Japan, there is no question, is in pain. This pain hurts me. It hurts, I would imagine the majority of thinking, feeling people.
However. I was told by a very misguided (yes, I am using my nice words) woman that this tragedy was the result of Mother Nature. Mother Nature was using this as population control....I feel sick about this still...I think some of my disgust is the result of my inept numbness. I stood in silence as this hatred was sent forth (need I mention that the woman who believes this...and that Mother Nature was wiping out not only the people of Japan but their pets also happens to work with children).
Anyways, tonight while looking up my horoscope by Susan Miller I read an essay that renews my faith in people..."
PS for April 2011
Open Letter to the Japanese People
By Susan Miller
You are not alone, my friends in Japan. I watched in horror as news reports concerning your recent earthquake, tsunami, and the damage to the nuclear reactors unfolded from day to day. The events were unthinkable and unfathomable - almost too much for anyone to endure.
The measure of a nation and its people, I feel, is revealed not in time of ease, but during times of peril. It is always during difficult times that we reveal the genuine character that lies beneath. I suppose in those times, we have no energy but to be our truest self. Now others will see a vast beauty that is inside you that is to be unmasked. In the case of Japan, a whole nation has shown remarkable strength and fortitude and an unshakable faith in the future.
Here in the United States, we gather in front of our televisions several times a day to get reports. We were able to see, close-up, the immeasurable suffering of those Japanese people who lost family members, their homes, and all their possessions. We saw that the relief efforts were taking a long time to get to those most needy, due to blocked roads and overwhelming destruction.
Despite much sorrow, we were touched to see the serene composure of the Japanese people and the powerful sense of community in the affected areas that linked stranger to stranger in a united brotherhood. Your countrymen's strength went far beyond what anyone would have expected under such trying circumstances. The compassion for others that was displayed by those who had lost so much touched me deeply.
We noticed that in Japan, there were no riots after the disaster, borne out of frustration and hunger. There was no pushing, shoving, or shouting - instead there were orderly lines of patient people waiting their turn to receive desperately needed food, water, and medical supplies. We all asked ourselves, under the same circumstances, would we have shown the same dignity and serenity of the people of Japan? I would like to think we would, but like any hypothetical situation, no one ever knows for sure until faced with the same severe circumstances. The people who stood in line were cold, hungry, and maybe even frightened, yet all waited calmly, as if to say, "Everyone here is equal in their pain. My needs are not more important than those of my neighbor."
God bless you, my friends in Japan. Your plight weighs heavily in the minds and hearts of every American. I live in New York City, and your situation has sparked heartfelt sympathy. We discuss your plight in every coffee shop, on every street corner, and over dinner in every household. Most of us are drawing up plans to raise money as quickly as possible. We care, and it is time to show that we do.
At times like these, many ask, why does the universe impose such suffering? We are small in the scheme of the wide universe, and in the end, we must admit that we have few answers concerning life's mysteries. We are but soldiers of a God who loves us and who will never forsake us. Despite how small and helpless we feel at times, we manage to press forward, for we have faith. The unflagging optimism and resourcefulness of the Japanese people has engendered deep admiration.
I feel you already know about the spiritual truths and mysteries of which I speak. Your people seem to be saying to us, "In times of greatest sorrow there is always comfort in caring for others." One young Japanese woman was reported to have carried her 88-year-old mother on her back over a far distance to get her mother to safety. It is scenes like that that move us and show us the spirit of the Japanese people. These scenes inspire me and other Americans, and we want to help.
Indeed, the ability to be compassionate, and to feel another's pain as if it were our own, is one of the highest of all human qualities. When one of us suffers, we all suffer. Your pain is our pain.
If this catastrophe has taught us anything, it is that the world is very small. Severe circumstances can come to any country at any time. We are all united in the family of man." continued
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