Struggling

It is hard to blog in a lighthearted manner, as I like to do, while the situation in Japan keeps deteriorating.  One of the reasons I blog is that I like interpreting my world with a sense of perspective and humor.  There is no humor in that tragedy and I am not wise enough to feel any sense of perspective right now.

I would like to blog, happily and in a carefree manner, about Sierra's new green tennis shoes which she will debut today at school for St. Patrick's Day. 

The leprechauns will approve of these, no doubt, especially since the original leprechauns were said to be cobblers!

After writing something in my usual lighthearted and silly blogging way,  I almost feel guilty.  I have a pang of anxiety and sadness for the people displaced in Japan.  I have an unwelcome mental image of bodies washing up on shore.  I feel helpless in the face of so much suffering.  I feel frustrated that we, as a species, lived less than 200 years ago without using gasoline and electricity, and in that short time span have come to depend so on luxuries that are capable of  contributing to the destruction of large sections of our planet.  We as a species now believe we are entitled to things our great-grandparents could not even imagine.  And these false beliefs come with a cost, often to the innocent among us.

There is no right way to respond to such large-scale tragedy.  If I could easily continue with my humor and perspective in my writing there would be nothing wrong with that.  But it just isn't in me right now. 

Yesterday I found myself in the enviable position of having extra time in the afternoon on the first warm day this spring.  I found myself far enough north of town at the end of my work day to stop by Parklands for a walk on my way home.  I found myself sitting alone by the Mackinaw River, listening to a woodpecker and to water rushing over a stone.  I lost myself in the beautiful side of Mother Nature for an hour.  I would like to bottle up that serenity and share it with the people around the world who are suffering today.  That would be a true Irish blessing.