Tsunami

I have been watching the disaster response on the other side of the planet and the horribleness of the event is such that I am quite speechless. A fine thing, that. Here I am in my comfortable house, my family intact and I have before me a plate of Christmas cookies. And over there - well, none of that. My heart goes out to those whose lives have been turned upside down and I hope and pray for the souls who are departed. It makes no sense to me, but I must remind myself that I have merely one man's perspective. My mind and my faith tell me that a peaceful, long life is not the purpose of living, and my desire for just that may be among the larger impediments to any understanding I might have. Awareness of that clash between what I want and what really is helps only a little. In instances like this it is faith that props up the mind, which, left to it's own devices would simply spin its wheels until they were bald. Currently the death count sits at about 50,000, which, if it was applied to my home town of Abbotsford, would claim the lives of every second resident. South Asians are the largest minority here, at 15% of the population, and I wonder how many of them have been directly impacted by what has happened. I suppose the stories will emerge in the local media over the next few days. Hats off, of course, to the Red Cross and all of the agencies working save those remaining form further harm. I will remember your heroic response the next time a donation request crosses my path.