It is with shame, shock, embarrassment and surprise that I realize that despite the cataclysmic event in S/SE Asia and despite actually 'hailing' from one of the countries involved, I have difficulty in truly relating to the bottomless grief of those affected.
My thoughts are more immediate, of me and myself, of my surroundings...that event is now almost more a matter of numbers than anything else: will the toll cross a 100,000? Such a perverse anticipation of a sad, morbid piece of statistic.
Only when I watch the news on TV or surf the news sites on the web does my heart go out to those people who have lost so much; only then do I acutely feel the agony, the despair, the wrenching loss: those images of common, poor folk with their heads on the sandy beaches in aggrieved surrender before larger, inexplicable forces, inconsolable mothers, fathers, wives, husbands...
But after the TV is shut off, after that...forgetfulness...a lack of connection...life and business as usual...
How are others dealing with this?
I am sharply reminded how the smallest distress in my life becomes so utterly unbearable to me...so I wish to share that grief...but yet I am unable...I feel so distant, so removed...so unfeeling, almost...
The question, asked long ago, in another different, less horrifying circumstance, "Am I My Brother's Keeper?" comes back to haunt...
How does one go about becoming more feeling, more compassionate, especially to those not in our immediate vicinity...how does one develop an ever-pervading sense of universal compassion?
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