Japan: A Moment of Silence

At the beginning of the week, I fell silent. Humility swept over me. I had a moment of silence for Japan. Next a moment of weeping. 

I begun thinking how very little aid was offered to Japan the first week after the earthquake in contrast to other disasters world wide. And the animals suffering in Japan, and the farmers who won't leave their side and continue to enter contaminated areas to help their animals and cattle. I contemplated all the hero's, including those who have gone to to help.

Then I contemplated the media and world this week:

The media, governments, politics just roll along making the same thoughtless mistakes without a skip in their steps. Did the middle east or even Libya stop and help or have a moment of silence, or just continue murdering one another? Did Afghanistan help or just continue to slaughter U.N workers? Did the Koran-burning preacher have a moment of silence during Japan's disaster or just continue his burn fest?

If we cannot stop our wars and disputes while our neighbors like Japan need help and our compassion, we are in dire times. It speaks a great disrespect to Japan.

It sometimes seems to me in tragedies we've become almost immune to tragedy on some level; we have lost some sense of reverence. Or perhaps all the media bombardment has desensitized us?

I think there's so much we can learn from this past month. We can learn about one another, and investigate our internal barometer; our values and our spirituality. How do we respond to tragedy?: In shock? In denial? With compassion? Or hostility and cold logic?

We're going to take more time contemplating our response to a month of tragic world events that have left us silent in pause.